The fall-out of skipping ports
"Lost capacity" is the key issue. The MDS Transmodal (MDST) research, commissioned by Global Shippers Forum (GSF), recently measured the total number of container ship slots that were expected to be available at the port but did not materialise because either the port was skipped or the entire service was blanked by the shipping line.
Altogether, global ports lost over a third of their expected capacity to ship containers during 2021, creating delays and disruption for shippers and economic harm to some smaller developing nations.
In Asia Pacific, Port Klang in Malaysia saw a 40% shortfall and Melbourne, Australia, and Tauranga, New Zealand, were down by around a third of the expected container capacity during H2/2021. In 2019, average no-shows at these ports amounted to between 10 and 15% of expected capacity.
In Europe, the port of Piraeus was particularly badly affected, with about 40% of the expected container capacity failing to arrive in Q4/2021, in comparison with a pre-Covid level of between 15-20%.
In addition, in the European, Gulf and Indian Sub-continent (ISC) region, Felixstowe (UK) and Jebel Ali (UAE) failed to see around a third of their expected capacity. (sh)