7th September 2026
Following our recent communications regarding severe weather and port congestion across China, we would like to provide a further update on the current situation and, importantly, some practical steps that can help minimise the impact on your supply chain.
Unfortunately, significant congestion continues across China’s major export ports, with Shanghai and Ningbo remaining particularly affected. Recent industry reporting indicates vessels are experiencing berthing delays of up to 10 days, while vessel bunching, high terminal utilisation, equipment imbalances and accumulated cargo backlogs continue to affect shipping schedules.
Despite ports being operational, the scale of the backlog means recovery is not immediate. Delayed vessels subsequently arrive late at their next ports, creating a knock-on effect throughout Asia and the wider global shipping network.
What Customers Should Expect
For the immediate future, customers shipping from China should continue to anticipate:
- Vessel departures and arrivals changing at short notice
- Extended transit times and berthing delays
- Cargo being rolled onto later sailings
- Port omissions or changes to vessel rotations
- Restricted terminal gate-in windows
- Pressure on vessel space and container/equipment availability
- Knock-on delays at transhipment and destination ports
The extent of disruption will vary by port, carrier and service, but we recommend not relying solely on currently published vessel ETDs and ETAs when planning critical delivery dates.
What Can We Do to Help?
While the congestion itself is outside the control of freight forwarders, there are steps we can take together to reduce the risk to upcoming shipments.
- Book as early as possible.
Where you know cargo will be required, please provide forecasts and booking instructions at the earliest opportunity. Current industry guidance recommends allowing significantly more lead time than normal, with approximately 15–20 additional days of planning contingency suggested for affected ocean freight movements. - Consider alternative sailings and routings.
Where practical, our team can review different carriers, services or routings rather than relying solely on the originally preferred option. This will not eliminate the wider congestion, but in some circumstances it may provide greater flexibility. - Consider air freight for urgent cargo.
For stock that is business-critical or cannot tolerate an extended ocean freight delay, air freight may be worth considering. This could include moving the entire shipment by air or, where commercially appropriate, sending a smaller quantity by air to cover immediate requirements while the balance continues by sea. - Prioritise critical shipments.
If you have several upcoming orders, please let us know which are most time-sensitive. This allows us to focus on the cargo that presents the greatest risk to your production, stock availability or customer commitments.
Planning Ahead Is Key
At present, early communication and additional contingency are the most effective tools available to us.
We would strongly encourage customers not to wait until cargo is ready before discussing shipping requirements. The earlier we understand your expected volumes, required delivery dates and priorities, the more opportunity we have to review available space, routings and alternative transport solutions.
We fully appreciate how frustrating the continued disruption is. Our team and overseas partners remain focused on monitoring individual shipments, carrier schedules and port conditions and communicating material changes as quickly as possible.
For any urgent or time-critical China shipments, or if you would like us to review whether air freight or an alternative routing could help protect your delivery requirements, please speak with your usual contact.
Thank you for your continued patience, understanding and support.