Maersk forecasts a serious lack of space before the Lunar New Year

Maersk forecasts a serious lack of space before the Lunar New Year

In its latest Asia Pacific market update, Maersk - the world's largest shipping and logistics provider - expects a spike in cargo volumes ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday coming February 1-7, as some barge services in South China will remain suspended.

Maersk expects a tight supply of 40ft container equipment, while there is a surplus of 20ft containers, particularly in the Mainland China region, although some locations may see equipment shortages ahead of the Lunar New Year.

“With 2021 coming to an end, demand remains strong and the outlook for early 2022 remains cautiously optimistic even as global supply chains continue to face congestion and disruption issues and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic poses wider economic challenges,” said Maersk.

The Danish container carrier notes that the new variant of Omicron Covid-19 is creating more supply disruptions as many governments resort to lockdowns and travel bans, which could leading to a decline in demand and a faster decline in inflation.

The container shipping industry remains capacity constrained even as global container trade grew 1% year-on-year in October. In addition, disruptions on land continue to significantly limit supply chain capacity, while port congestion reduces shipping capacity and efficiency, according to Maersk's update.

Maersk shipping line said: “We expect strong demand and volume during 2022 Chinese New Year starting from this December, and the sporadically reported Covid cases in some areas may bring potential impacts to our customers’ supply chain.”

“The rush before CNY is an important time for our customers, and we will be in-fleeting containers, returning empty equipment back to Asia at increased speed, and take strong measures to protect capacity – all to ensure we can be there for them in the best way possible through this period and beyond,” said Ann-Sophie Zerlang Karlsen, head of Asia Pacific Ocean Customer Logistics at Maersk, said.

Maersk said the situation was intensifying in Asian and Oceania ports. In which, many ports are congested and have to carry more than three days for ships such as in Shanghai, Yantian, Shekou, Melbourne and Auckland.

Meanwhile, ships at ports in Busan, Ningbo, Nansha, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang, Sydney and Tauranga are also waiting for one to three days.

Read more:

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• Maersk acquires LF Logistics from Li & Fung for $3.6 billion to expand Asian market
• Maersk Spot restricts NAC booking, opportunities for small forwarding companies to have more customers
• Maersk acquires Senator International to boost aviation business

Source: Phaata.com (According to Containernews)
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