Businesses are experiencing ocean-freight shipment delays nationwide.
Multiple factors are contributing to the delays:
COVID-19
Global shipping increased rapidly this summer with the reopening of national economies following the pandemic shutdowns.
Equipment Shortage
Container availability in China continues to be at a record low [2].
Holiday Closures
Ports and forwarders will be closed for the holidays.
Peak Season
Ports are hitting record highs for the number of imported containers as retailers restock in preparation for the Lunar New Year closures.
Suntsu has been experiencing a one to two-week delay on most of our ocean shipments over the past month. These delays are slowly increasing, and experts say delays will continue until the middle of February 2021. At that time, ports should have a chance to catch up while factories in Asia shut down for the Lunar New Year celebration.
Our team is working hard to pull ocean shipments in to get ahead of any delays. With Lunar New Year approaching, this is proving more and more difficult. Although these delays present short-term challenges, it is a sign of economic improvement. “It’s all good for the economy. When you have ports bogged up, it means you got demand,” says Timothy R. Fiore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee [1].
To avoid these delays on production schedules, we recommend that our customers release any orders they need for Q1 now.
For more information or order assistance, reach out to our team.
Update: Written in December 2020, this was the opening of the pandemic-era shipping crisis. The delays deepened through 2021 (peaking with 100+ ships anchored off California that fall) before easing through 2022 as demand normalized.
References
[1] Supply Chain Dive. “Manufacturers report ‘significant delays’ due to port congestion, rising coronavirus cases” Available at: https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/ISM-manufacturing-coronavirus-port-congestion-bottlenecks/591429/
[2] U.S. International Trade Commission. “The Impact of COVID-19 on Freight Transportation” Available at: https://www.usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/tradeshifts/2020/special_topic.html
[3] Suntsu Electronics. “West Coast Port Delays Continue as COVID-19 Cases Rise” Available at: https://suntsu.com/blog/west-coast-port-delays-continue-as-covid-19-cases-rise/