Shipping, Drayage & Intermodal Alerts for December 1st, 2021
Hillebrand USA / Edison NJ Office update – The phone lines at the Edison office have been restored December 1st, 2021 following a technical outage.
USA Port / Terminal Updates
East Coast – Savannah and Charleston are still seeing the highest vessel wait time delays as they work to manage the high import volumes and late arriving vessels. Terminal velocity is a challenge at New York / New Jersey where there has been continued demurrage and detention penalties for loaded pickups and empty returns. There is a shortage of chassis equipment for inland rail in Philadelphia, Charleston and Atlanta.
Chicago Inland Ramps – severe congestion, high container dwell times and chassis shortages are impacting all rail ramp facilities in Chicago. Extended delays continue for container pickups and delivery to rail terminals.
Houston – Vessel waiting times are averaging between 2-6 days at the port and ongoing congestion continues to restrict chassis availability and increase truck order lead times.
West Coast – Vessel wait times are increasing again at Oakland as more services have restored the port calls and 1 berth is down. Wait times are high also at Seattle / Vancouver where recovery efforts are still ongoing for transport infrastructure impacted by regional flooding. In Southern California the vessel wait times at Los Angeles and Long Beach are now averaging 26-30 days due to import volumes.
LA / LB Container Dwell fee on hold until December 6, 2021 – Container dwell time has improved in the past few weeks enough that the twin-port complex has postponed the container dwell fee until review again on December 6, 2021. The container excess dwell fee would started at USD 100 per day per container at 6 days (for rail moves) or 9 days (for truck moves) and increase by USD 100 per day until the container leaves the terminal.
PierPass increases on December 1, 2021 – PierPass rates for pickups during peak weekday hours (7AM and 5:59PM) will increase December 1st through January 31st to USD 78.23 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit).
Europe to North America
Demand out of North Europe remains high and is expected to continue through the end of the year and the first quarter. Major seaports in the United Kingdom and North Europe have experienced delays from port congestion and this disrupts the circulation of equipment. Italian ports, especially Genoa, have experienced disruption from local labor actions and weather events in the past few weeks. As the winter season progress, prepare for seasonal delays and protect temperature-sensitive cargo with operating reefer equipment or at minimum Hillebrand VinLiner insulation.
South Africa
Ocean carrier schedule changes are impacting space available on shipments out of South Africa. Routings to the US East Coast via Europe are full as there are space constraints due to congestion at European ports. Services via Asia have been suspended or on hold due to transshipment congestion in Singapore and Shanghai. A general rate increase on this trade lane from Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) goes into effect on December 1st, 2021.
Oceania / New Zealand
Industrial action continues at Australian port and continues to add to congestion and delays for sailings and equipment circulation both in Australia as well as New Zealand.
For more information on specific origins or bookings for upcoming shipments, including alternative shipping ports, air freight options for urgent orders, or reefer or VinLiner equipment for temperature-sensitive products, please reach out to your Hillebrand representative for more information or login to myHillebrand.