Shipping delays from Chinese ports increase due to lockdowns

European ports are starting to feel the effects of the Chinese lockdowns more due to increasing shipping delays from Chinese ports. This is according to data from visibility platform project44.

The average delay time of ship loadings shipped from various ports in China to the Port of Rotterdam is increasing. The platform comes up with data for shipments from the Port of Shanghai, the Port of Yantian, located in Shenzhen in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong near Hong Kong, and the Port of Tianjin, located near Beijing.

Compared to the other two ports in China, the average monthly delay for ships in March was the highest from Yantian to Rotterdam. The average delay was about 11 days. However, the largest increase was seen for traffic from the port of Tianjin to Rotterdam. The monthly average growth slowed by as much as 68% in March compared to February.

Project44 noted that the lockdown in Shanghai had a broader global impact. By 2021, 20% of China’s freight capacity will be handled at the Shanghai container port, meaning that this capacity cannot simply be accommodated elsewhere. The platform said Shanghai’s container freight index continued to decrease, indicating a decrease in Shanghai’s exports. Analysts believe this is partly due to the closure of several Shanghai car factories, including Tesla’s in Shanghai. Tesla is now planning to reopen its Shanghai factory.

Under Project 44, Shanghai’s lockdown has also affected shipping schedules in southern China, as ships from Hong Kong and Yantian have delayed arrivals. Those ports have also been struggling with their own corona restrictions for months. The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, a district where Yantian’s port is located, went into full lockdown in March, but was also hit by multiple corona restrictions before that. Tianjin went into a full lockdown in January