TSA warns of congestion in Asian ports

Warning that volumes and port utilisation are likely to rise despite moderating growth, the TSA says that congestion at Asian ports will impact cargo flow and therefore ship schedules. The association reports consistently higher ship utilisation since May and through the northern hemisphere summer, which has led to increased congestion at Asian ports – “notably Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Colombo, due to booming intra-Asia and Asia-Europe trade growth,” it said.

According to the TSA, US importers are facing supply chain congestion challenges that will become progressively more complex to manage as the peak shipping season advances.

TSA chairman Ron Widdows said that Asia–US supply chain infrastructure was already operating at peak capacity, with no margin for error in the system. The main concern for container lines in 2007 and into 2008, he said, is not a weaker market but supply chain disruptions from congestion at Asian ports, labour slowdowns, and capacity availability and cost increases for truck and inland rail transport.