The cost of shipping a container of merchandise from China to the rest of the world through the most common trade routes is skyrocketing.
In just 11 months, from July 31, 2020 to June 25, 2021, the average shipping price of the standard 20-foot container, the most common in international trade, has increased from $ 1,103 to $ 3,785, which it is 243% more.
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While the strong uptrend started in late summer 2020, it has only intensified.
Behind this vertical rise is, in part, the closure suffered by the port of Yantian.
Located in the south of China, its facilities are the heart of a port complex of planetary importance. According to the Efe agency, a third of Canton's international trade and a quarter of Chinese exports to the United States pass through Yantian.
A Covid outbreak led the authorities to stop the activity on May 26 until further notice. On June 11, the Maersk shipping company reported that the port was already operating at 45% of its capacity. Despite recovering part of the activity, the impact was still considerable due to the queues that formed, both of ships waiting to dock at the port and of containers to have an exit.
“After a six-day hiatus in container exports, the Yantian port has gradually recovered productivity as more workers return to their jobs.
We appreciate the reduction in waiting queues, but the certainty about delivery dates continues to be affected ”, laments Maersk in the latest statement available on the matter, corresponding to last June 21.
That same day, according to Efe, the port assured that it had already resumed 70% of its total capacity and that it expected to return to normal at the end of June, before the peak shipping season, concentrated annually in the months of August and September. , when US and Chinese companies replenish their inventories ahead of the Christmas season.
The upheavals such as the Suez Canal or the problems at Yantian are causing the industry to rethink the logistics model. Matthew Hill, Maersk's North American Imports Manager, advocated during an expert panel held on June 24 for a system change. “The
just in time
[organization system based on operating with the least possible inventory] is not sustainable today.
Just-in-case
supply chain models
, with an inventory buffer, ensure that sales demand can be met, ”he said.