In Shanghai’s fourth week of lockout, they have seen a drop of more than 40% in bookings for forwarding exports, which has led carriers to consolidate loads and cancel more sailings.
Several carriers have indicated they may be forced to use a “hardcore” blanking strategy in an effort to mitigate the cargo shortfall.
Many of the numerous containerships anchored off Shanghai are simply waiting for new orders as fleet managers struggle with alliance partners to agree on plans for contingencies.
There is a heavy concentration of ships in the anchorage, but many are not waiting for berths, but simply changing cargo or rotations,” he said.
It appears to be a bit better for transpac loaders from China to North Europe, he explained. “I saw the last forecasts showing cancellations of at least 40% for May sailings from China to North Europe”, he said.
Moreover, Hapag-Lloyd today said its Shanghai WGQ terminal had average berth wait times of one to two days, adding that terminal operations were “normal”.
The Loadstar received an updated graph from VesselsValue this week that shows that even though there have been delays for containerships in Shanghai this month, the amount is still less than two days.
Hapag-Lloyd points to a shortage of trucks as among the reasons behind some of the operational challenges at the world’s largest container port, noting that “the trucking in ratio has been reduced by around 45%.”
“A significant reduction of cross-province trucks contributed largely to the reduction in trucking in ratio.” Taking into account road restrictions in Jiangsu and Shanghai, the carrier claims that there is substantial congestion on the roads.
To drive in Shanghai, truckers are required to have an epidemic prevention pass (EPP) under Covid. If a positive PCR test is produced within 48 hours, the pass is granted.
Many empty container depots in Shanghai are shut down to release equipment in spite of the constant closures of factories and warehouses.
In the event of a cargo shortage, fleet managers have to decide whether to sail their ships light, combine export loads onto fewer sailings, idle the ships until more cargo arrives at the port, or cancel the trip altogether.
Companies like 2M, for example, may adopt a blanking strategy as demand declines. A network deployment adjustment on the market led to the void sailings, Maersk said.
