Congestion at Port of Felixstowe could affect $2.7 billion worth of UK imports

The UK port of Felixstowe is the latest to be affected by the congestion and could affect up to 2 billion GBP ($2.72 billion) worth of imported goods.

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Port of Felixstowe, UK (Image: Mike Page)

Congestion at the port of Felixstowe came into focus after the Maersk shipping line diverted ships from the port due to delays in docking, and opted instead for feeder trains.

The port has blamed the congestion on a combination of the pre-Christmas rush with vehicle shortages, congested inland terminals, the reliability of poor vessel schedules and the pandemic.

With the Port of Felixstowe handling 36% of the UK's container throughput, it is estimated by the Russell Group that the port will handle more than $9.6 billion worth of annual trade cargo. Based on modeling, Russell Group said congestion at Felixstowe between October 12 and December 25 could affect $2.72 billion worth of imports into the UK.

Suki Basi, CEO of Russell Group, commented: “As Russell has argued in the past, trade is becoming more and more concentrated, as shown by previous analysis of $7.5 trillion of global trade flows through 50 key ports. So, when there is a blockage at any major port, there is disruption across the value-chain for consumers and businesses alike."

Alex Hersham, CEO and co-founder of ZenCargo, notes that containers have been placed in Felixstowe for 10 to 20 days resulting in capacity limitations.

“Felixstowe has made an additional 15,000 teu worth of space available at the terminal, but this still isn’t enough to mitigate the congestion and the port is now refusing empty containers from several major carriers onto the premises,” he said.

"The upshot of this is that shipping lines may try to avoid dropping containers in the UK, instead opting for smaller ports in Europe where “feeder” ships can then ferry goods across the channel."

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