Climate change and international trade are combining to put the very existence of life on Earth at risk. That is not a crazy unfounded risk assessment by a dogmatic green activist, but the considered opinion of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Another typhoon has prompted the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo to close for the second time in 10 days. We expect that this will have a “ripple effect” on shipping delays.
A combination of improved labour availability, due to the end of the school holidays and a reduction in Asian imports, has eased congestion at North Europe’s container hubs.
Low water levels resulting from a lengthy heatwave across Europe have forced the closure of the Rhine to barge operations for the first time in four years.
Heatwaves have sent prices skyrocketing for container moves along northern Europe’s inland waterways and, with little sign of rainfall, things are likely to get worse.
While congestion has been most evident in Chinese and US ports in recent months, Northern European ports are now also affected. As a result of the concentrated arrival of delayed container ships, all major Northern European seaports are experiencing seaborne and landside congestion.
For the third time within a few weeks, there will be another strike starting tomorrow. The service sector union ver.di has called for this. The strike will take place in the period from Thursday, June 14, 2022, with the start of the early shift until the end of the night shift of Friday, July 15, 2022.
The dwell time of import containers in the Port of Hamburg has steadily increased - now the operator of the terminals, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG, sees the need to take much tougher measures.
