Shipping Alerts – Port Terminal Strikes/Slowdowns – Lisbon, Cape Town, Argentina & Montreal
Portugal: Lisbon dockworkers union have announced an extension of the labor strike now from July 6, 2020 at 8AM to August 10th at 8AM. Most ocean carriers have already omitted Lisbon port calls in their schedules and freight would need to be routed via alternative ports such as Leixões.
South Africa: Shipments at Cape Town are experiencing heavy delays due to terminal operations slowdown over covid-19 (labor and cleaning closures). Vessels are queuing outside the port region awaiting berthing space and some carriers are starting to omit port calls.
Argentina / Cross-Andes Transport: Shipments from Argentina sailing via Chilean ports are extremely delayed due to weather closures. Winter weather and earlier separate trucking strikes have disrupted transit over the international pass intermittently throughout June. Updates on the road status are published by CF Los Libertadores here (site is in Spanish but they post pictures of the snow covered pass).
Canada: Longshoremen’s Union has announced strike action for two terminals at the Port of Montreal. The strike is to start Thursday July 2nd at 3PM through Saturday July 4th at 6:59AM.
Holiday Closure Reminder
- July 3rd, 2020 – Hillebrand offices will be closed on Friday in observance of July 4th holiday. Please note with closures that customs filing deadlines still apply on international freight arrivals. Port terminals will also be closed or operating on reduced holiday schedules.
- July 28th, 2020: Harry Bridges Birthday is an ILWU holiday for US West Coast ports, honoring his role in forming and leading the ILWU.
What we recommend:
- Set up notification alerts on myHillebrand.com to view shipment routings and to keep on top of latest updates for estimated departure / arrival dates.
- Adjust your lead times and requested ship dates for longer transit times, especially on freight moving through transshipment ports.
- Protect your cargo – at minimum choose Hillebrand insulation over dry containers to reduce thermal shock impact on sensitive products.
NASA and Hillebrand are here to help you navigate this ever changing environment and organize transport solutions for your business needs. We thank you for your continued support; please reach out for any questions.