Container port congestion sets 4.31m teu record, 12.6% of global fleet

Queues above the 2022 record

Linerlytica put 4.31m teu of containership capacity waiting to berth worldwide in late August, above the previous peak of around 4m teu reached in 2022. Its latest update this week showed congestion still absorbing more than 4m teu. The record comes with a qualification: the backlog was 12.6% of the 34.4m teu global fleet, against 15.7% of a 25.3m teu fleet at the 2022 peak.

Sea-Intelligence estimates delays are removing about 1.7m teu of effective capacity, equal to 5.0% of global deep-sea capacity against an average of 2.2% between 2011 and 2019. Chief executive Alan Murphy said the extra 2.8 percentage points above that baseline equals 1.0m teu of absorbed capacity.

Typhoons leave Shanghai and Ningbo behind

Repeated typhoons since July stopped Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan from clearing one backlog before the next storm arrived.

Typhoon Saudel closed Shanghai's Yangshan and Waigaoqiao terminals for 54 and 48 hours respectively, while Ningbo lost 78 hours of operations. Portcast counted 139 vessels waiting at Shanghai and 77 at Ningbo in late August, levels not seen during 2025 or 2026. Kuehne+Nagel put average waits at Shanghai at 4.72 days and Ningbo at 3.58 days, with individual terminals recording seven to nine days or more. Hapag-Lloyd reported Yangshan waits of five to six days for Gemini Cooperation services and seven to eight days for other carriers. Maersk chief executive Vincent Clerc said Shanghai waits had reached as much as 12 days.

Carriers responded by skipping calls. At least 320,000 teu of Gemini Cooperation capacity avoided Shanghai in the two weeks before 18 August, and another 70,000 teu skipped Ningbo, according to Hapag-Lloyd's operational update.

Rates rise as spare capacity runs out

Linerlytica calculates the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index at around 3,355 points, 156% higher than when the Iran conflict began.

Drewry's World Container Index stood at $4,526 per 40-foot container on 20 August. Spot rates from Shanghai to New York reached $9,507 per 40-foot container and Shanghai to Los Angeles $6,802, both 9% higher week on week.

S&P Global's Platts Container Index jumped to $7,565 per feu on 21 August, its highest level this year, with analysts citing typhoon-related Asian port delays, space shortages and Panama Canal restrictions. Schedule reliability has not recovered either. Sea-Intelligence puts it at 60-65%, against 70-80% between 2011 and 2019, and late ships now arrive five to five-and-a-half days behind schedule instead of three to four. Global fleet idling was just 0.5% in August.

Strikes and Panama restrictions add to delays

Europe added its own disruption. A 48-hour warning strike hit Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven and other German gateways, leaving Bremerhaven at 88% yard occupancy. Rotterdam saw separate industrial action on 4 September, with some terminals approaching 90% utilisation.

Panama will cut Neopanamax transit slots to nine a day from 3 September after below-normal rainfall.

The World Bank and S&P Global's Container Port Performance Index describes burst congestion: vessels arrive in clusters after rerouting or delay, overwhelming even well-equipped ports. ICIS said China's September-October export peak threatened to prolong the disruption.