TRANSPACIFIC OCEAN MARKET UPDATE: September 20, 2018
We have been informed by our carriers that the congestion and overbooking situation in Asia for the TransPac Eastbound lanes is going to get much worse over the next month, at least.
TOC has had reports from our carriers that several strings are so overbooked that there will likely be some double rolls occurring , meaning an automatic roll of at least 2 vessels. This is an extreme measure that is very rarely necessary.
What are the factors that have led to such actions?
There are a number of factors impacting this:
- Back-to-back typhoons in Asia
- Severe draft restrictions out of Shanghai; (meaning only shallow draft vessels are getting berth spots)
- Using multiple terminals in Shanghai. Carriers being forced to switch between different berth locations due to ongoing construction. It’s difficult to move the cargo from one terminal to the next when vessels keep calling different berthing locations.
- Extremely high volumes out of Korea and North China.
- All this added to the previous congestion caused by early and high-volume bookings from manufacturers and buyers trying to get goods onto US soil prior to tariffs being implemented.
We urge you, our customers, to immediately engage your planners, buyers, suppliers and TOC service representative(s) to put a contingency plan in place to deal with these imminent disruptions to all our supply chains.
Thank you for allowing TOC Logistics International Inc. to serve you.