Congestion is getting worse! The arrival of the peak cargo season may affect the Christmas shopping season...

Following a peak in cargo data in May this year, the Port of Los Angeles saw a surge in cargo volume in June, with cargo container units at the Port of Los Angeles increasing 26.8% over the same month last year. The strong monthly data is likely to continue in July.

However , in May, due to the epidemic, the operational capacity of Yantian Port was greatly affected, cargo handling was slowed down, and delivery was delayed. Since about one-third of the imports to the Port of Los Angeles come from South China, the suspension of Yantian Port also had a chain reaction on the Port of Los Angeles.

Although Yantian Port YICT has resumed full operations in late June, with approximately 20 berths handling about 40,000 TEUs of cargo per day, according to data from project44, the impact of this Yantian Port outage far exceeds the impact of the blockage of the Suez Canal caused by the Ever Given .

Now that Yantian Port has resumed full operations, more ships will appear in ports around the world, and the traditional peak season for the shipping industry is approaching. In late summer and autumn, back-to-school and holiday shipments begin to surge, and stores need to prepare for the shopping boom during this period, which means that shipping volume will reach a peak in the second half of 2021.

Although the Suez Canal and Yantian International Container Terminal ( YICT) have resumed full operations, the subsequent impact and the recurrence of the epidemic in some parts of the world will continue to put pressure on the supply chain as the Christmas cargo volume surges and the transportation peak arrives.

There is a global shortage of containers and port congestion has not been alleviated . Now that the peak season is approaching, supply cannot keep up with consumer demand and retailers will face severe shortages of goods.

According to data from project44, analysts said that the subsequent supply chain disruptions may continue for a long time this year, with the impact on seasonal transportation reaching as far as Christmas .

Suppliers of well-known retailers such as Amazon and Walmart have warned that the epidemic has affected the speed of cargo handling at Yantian Port and delayed the delivery of most retail goods. As the global container shortage continues to ferment, there will be a big chaos. The pressure on global freight may seriously affect this Christmas shopping season.

Isaac Larian, CEO of toy manufacturer MGA Entertainment, warned with concern that "there will be chaos by then." The company supplies a variety of toys to retail giants such as Amazon and Walmart. Currently, many toys are still stuck in Yantian Port, and there is not enough inventory to meet consumer demand, which will seriously damage Christmas sales.

Worldwide Shipping

Peak cargo period

Christmas shopping season