booked well in advance due to limited capacity and blanks sailings programs, especially with Australian Ports omission, due to ongoing port congestion.

It has been a similar scenario in South East Asia, where most of shipping lines stopped taking cargo bookings in October, and then into November with very limited vessel capacity & a lack of empty shipping containers availability.

In markets such as China, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia suppliers and freight forwarders are experiencing difficulty in obtaining sufficient empty containers to meet the demand.

The industrial action undertaken by the Maritime Union in Sydney came at the worst possible time, and the busy Sydney port operations are yet to recover.

Empty container depots are beyond capacity, and Port Botany precinct is experiencing degrees of gridlock on the worst days.

Concurrently,  we’re seeing  increasing demand from Europe &  Mediterranean Area, very similar to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March/April 2020, with a shortage of equipment for export cargo. Limited direct sailing services ex Europe to Australia has led to significant delays in transhipment ports such as Singapore & Malaysia.
Freight rates continue  to increase, Peak Season Surcharges & proposed General Rate Increases  are being announced with short notice, and related cost elements such as  AU & NZ Port Congestion Surcharges are also impacting.

It’s certainly not a pretty picture at the moment, but our Procurement & Operations teams at origin and destination sides are working with our preferred shipping line partners, and beyond, chasing down bookings and space. We are here to assist & support  our clients.

We encourage all clients to plan ahead and provide shipment volume forecasts to FJT as early as possible.