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Port congestion – a brief analysis


A look at the factors that have led to major port congestion problems both in the UK and around the world – and at the likelihood the situation improving


Last year was a difficult and unpredictable one for many in the maritime sector, with all individual parties being impacted to some extent. The most visible outward sign in the UK was congestion at many of the country’s ports, shortages of Christmas products for sale and, perhaps most notably, Honda at Swindon announcing that it was stopping production due to a shortage of parts caused by delays at “UK freight ports”. There has been much finger pointing and calls


for government intervention and, in fact, along with other trade associations, BIFA did meet and contribute to a joint letter sent to the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, emphasising the sector’s complexity and ability to resolve problems for itself.


18 Some of the issues stem directly from the twin


factors of traders being heavily reliant on maintaining relatively low stock levels, and reduced carrier choice forcing ever more reliance on larger vessels to move the cargoes.


Problems combine The two factors combined to make supply chains less flexible and magnified the impact of any problems and delays. Whilst the UK during 2020 seemed particularly vulnerable to these issues, it should be recalled that port congestion was reported globally. In a way, the whole supply chain was


disrupted throughout 2020, firstly at origin in the spring and later in late spring/early summer at


destination, particularly in Europe. This led to rerouting or cancelling port calls and/or sailings, increasing the duration of a round trip. The situation was further exacerbated by additional health checks and requirements introduced at ports throughout the world in an attempt to combat COVID-19. In effect, the whole pattern of trade was


disrupted. Less cargo was moved and it took longer to clear cargo and return empty containers for re-use, leading to many being in the wrong place at the wrong time later in the year when the level of trade rebounded to unexpectedly high levels. This was largely due to a significant shift in consumer spending away from experiences such as meals out, concert and cinema tickets to increased spending on physical products – reversing a three-year trend. It would be true to say that in the UK certain


ports were ill-equipped and prepared to deal with this sudden reversal. This factor was coupled with the physical difficulty in clearing freight because relevant documentation was unavailable


February 2021


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