unprecedented! Major European ports are in heavy congestion!

Although the congestion of the Suez Canal has basically subsided, for global ports, the delay effect caused by the congestion is still being transmitted, further aggravating the difficulty of container circulation.

Data from Container xChange, a professional organization in the field of container monitoring, shows that at present, containers are pouring into major European ports.unprecedented! Major European ports are in heavy congestion! unprecedented! Major European ports are in heavy congestion!

The container availability index released by Container xChange shows that the three major European ports, Rotterdam Port in the Netherlands, Antwerp Port in Belgium and Hamburg Port in Germany, are witnessing an influx of containers.
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It is understood that the number of 20-foot dry cargo containers accepted by the above three ports in the 17th week (end of April) of 2021 has increased by more than 3% compared with the previous week.

Among them, the Port of Rotterdam received the largest number of containers. Compared with the 16th week, the container availability index increased by 3.75%, the Port of Antwerp increased by 3.5%, and the Port of Hamburg increased by 2.2%.
 
It is understood that the container availability index can quantify the availability of containers in major ports around the world.

When the index exceeds 0.5, it means that the port’s container departure speed is not as fast as its arrival speed, leading to the accumulation of containers at the port; an index below 0.5 means that containers are in short supply.
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The container availability index shows that since March, the container throughput of the three major European ports has been greater than that of the same period in previous years and tends to be saturated.

As far as the Port of Hamburg is concerned, in the 9th week of this year (early March), the container availability index was 0.8, but by the 17th week (end of April), it had soared to 0.93, and the container volume was almost saturated. At the beginning of January this year, this number was only 0.48.

The Port of Rotterdam's container availability index has also continued to increase this year. At the beginning of January 2021, it was 0.65. By the 9th week, it rose to 0.74, and is currently 0.83.
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The situation in the port of Antwerp is similar. The port's container availability index has risen from 0.38 at the beginning of January this year to 0.9 at the end of April.

The situation is even more difficult at the Port of Felixstowe in the UK, where the number of containers has been at a high level this year. In the third week of this year, the port’s container availability index reached 0.87 and hovered at 0.95 at the end of April.

Container xChange CEO Schlingemeier said: "The major container terminals in Europe have been working hard to avoid congestion, but the fact is that for most of this year, the number of incoming containers exceeds the number of outgoing containers. In this case, The congestion of the Suez Canal has increased the congestion in European ports."　　

Insiders analyzed that with the repeated epidemics in Europe and the United States, the rapid increase in container traffic from Asia to Europe will continue into the third quarter of this year. The congestion of European and American ports will continue to be the main bottleneck affecting the supply chain.
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