1st September 2026
Further to our recent updates regarding severe weather and port congestion across China, we wanted to provide a brief update on the current situation.
Unfortunately, despite Shanghai and Ningbo ports resuming operations following Typhoon Saudel, the anticipated recovery is taking longer than hoped. The accumulation of vessels and containers following successive typhoons has created significant backlogs, and congestion remains extremely challenging.
Shanghai & Ningbo – Delays Continue
Current industry reports indicate that vessels at Shanghai and Ningbo are now experiencing berthing delays of up to 10 days. The scale of the wider disruption is significant, with approximately 3.92 million TEU of global vessel capacity currently caught in port congestion – equivalent to around 11% of the global container shipping fleet.
North Asia alone is currently estimated to account for approximately 54% of global port congestion. Although port operations have resumed, this does not mean shipping schedules immediately return to normal. Vessel bunching, accumulated container backlogs, equipment imbalances and vessels being displaced from their normal rotations are continuing to affect schedule reliability.
What This Means for Your Shipments
Customers with cargo moving from China should continue to expect delays to planned departures and arrivals, together with the possibility of revised vessel schedules, port omissions, rolled cargo and changes at relatively short notice.
The disruption at Shanghai and Ningbo can also have a knock-on effect at subsequent ports as delayed vessels continue through their rotations, meaning the impact is not necessarily limited to cargo originating from these locations.
We therefore continue to recommend that customers build additional contingency into their supply-chain planning and avoid relying solely on currently published vessel departure and arrival dates for critical delivery commitments.
We Continue to Monitor Your Cargo
We fully appreciate how frustrating the continued disruption is, particularly after several weeks of weather-related delays. While the underlying port congestion and carrier schedule changes remain outside the control of freight forwarders, our focus remains firmly on managing what we can control.
Our team and overseas partners will continue monitoring individual shipments, vessel schedules and carrier announcements and will communicate material changes as quickly as possible. For particularly urgent or time-critical shipments, please speak with your usual contact so that we can review the position and any available alternatives.
We thank you for your continued patience and understanding while the shipping network works through this exceptional period of disruption.