IfW: More traffic jams in container shipping in China

The Suez Canal traffic jam received significantly more attention, but experts estimate the current traffic jam in container shipping to be at least as serious.

The trigger was a corona outbreak.

Kiel - The congestion in container shipping in southern China continues to hinder the global flow of goods.

“The number of waiting container ships in the Chinese Pearl River Delta is unusually high.

Individual ports like Yantian have shipped less than half of their usual container volume, ”reported the Kiel Institute for the World Economy on Monday.

“At present, almost five percent of all container ship capacities are tied up by traffic jams at the Chinese ports. That is more than in the first Corona wave. ”In the Red Sea between North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula,“ currently ten percent fewer container ships are on the move than would be expected ”.

The traffic jam in the Chinese port of Yantian, triggered by a corona outbreak among dock workers, has long been considered a bigger problem in the shipping industry than the one-week traffic jam on the Suez Canal, which was caused by the accident of the container freighter "Ever Given" at the end of March. The world's largest container shipping company, Maersk, last signaled to its customers on Friday that the congestion in Yantian was gradually resolving - "but it should be noted that if one port is affected, this can turn into a downward spiral for neighboring ports".

The corona-related disruptions in global container shipping are one of the causes of material bottlenecks in Europe.

According to many economists, they ensure that, for example, German industry can only partially process its bulging order books.

With a new analysis tool, the IfW evaluates ship movements worldwide in order to draw conclusions about the development of global trade flows.

Ships arriving and departing in 500 ports around the world are recorded.

In addition, ship movements in 100 sea regions are analyzed, and the effective capacity utilization of the container ships is measured based on the draft.

dpa