Have you ever felt anxious about delayed online purchases? Imagine thousands of shipping containers experiencing similar frustration—not at sea, but stuck in ports worldwide. The surprising culprit isn't maritime transport, but inland logistics bottlenecks.
The latest Beacon port performance report reveals a troubling shift in global shipping dynamics. While maritime congestion shows signs of easing, container backlogs on land have emerged as the new critical bottleneck.
From Sea to Land: The Changing Face of Port Congestion
May data shows an 11% monthly decrease in total vessel calls at global ports, with the number of anchored vessels dropping sharply by 27%. These figures might suggest improved maritime efficiency, but the reality proves otherwise. Even when ships successfully dock, containers struggle to move quickly through port terminals.
The Beacon analysis team notes: "May's data reflects the reality of extended container dwell times. The delay pattern has shifted—the problem is no longer just ships waiting at sea, but terminals struggling to move containers from yards. This is now the critical bottleneck."
Global Port Rankings: Where Are Containers Stuck?
Which ports face the most severe container backlogs?
- Kingston (Jamaica): Topping the list with over 12 days of container dwell time, highlighting severe yard congestion and throughput inefficiency.
- Chittagong (Bangladesh): Ships wait over 71 hours for berths, with lengthy operational delays making it one of the world's least efficient ports for consecutive months.
- Colón (Panama) and Cartagena (Colombia): These South American ports emerge as new congestion points due to slow terminal operations, with containers staying over 9 and 8.5 days respectively.
- Durban (South Africa) and Mombasa (Kenya): In Africa, Durban shows average berth times of 3.8 days, with Mombasa close behind at 3.7 days. Mombasa's container wait times exceed 4.5 days, signaling growing East African bottlenecks.
- Taipei: By contrast, Taipei Port averages just 0.38 days in berth time, ranking among the world's most efficient ports with strong vessel turnaround.
Inland Transport: The Overlooked Weak Link
The data clearly shows port congestion's root cause shifting from maritime to landside operations. Insufficient inland transport capacity, outdated infrastructure, and inefficient customs clearance all contribute to container pileups at ports.
Many ports lack adequate rail and road networks to handle growing cargo volumes. Complex customs procedures and slow processing further delay container movement. These compounding issues create worsening port congestion.
Solutions: A Multifaceted Approach to Efficiency
Addressing port congestion requires comprehensive improvements across logistics networks:
- Infrastructure investment: Expand port storage areas, upgrade handling equipment, and enhance rail/road networks to boost inland capacity.
- Streamlined customs: Simplify inspection processes and implement digital clearance to accelerate throughput.
- Information sharing: Develop unified logistics platforms for better coordination between stakeholders.
- Intermodal solutions: Promote sea-rail and sea-land multimodal transport to reduce single-mode dependence.
Port congestion increases business costs and threatens global supply chain stability. Only through recognizing these challenges and implementing coordinated solutions can the industry overcome these bottlenecks and ensure smooth international trade flows.