Over the past year, global supply chain disruptions, port congestion, capacity shortages, rising ocean freight rates and the ongoing pandemic have created challenges for shippers, ports, carriers and logistics providers.
Looking ahead to 2022, experts estimate that pressures on global supply chains will continue - with the light at the end of the tunnel not appearing until the second half of the year at the earliest.
On top of that, the consensus is that the pressure on the ocean freight market will persist in 2022, with freight rates unlikely to fall back to pre-pandemic levels. Capacity issues and congestion at ports will continue to be combined with strong demand from the global consumer goods industry.
German economist Monika Schnitzer expects the current Omicron variant to have a further impact on global shipping times in the coming months. "This could exacerbate an already existing delivery bottleneck," she warned. "Transit times from China to the US have increased from 85 days to 100 days due to the Delta variant and may increase again. Europe is also affected by these issues as the situation remains tense."
Meanwhile, the ongoing pandemic has sparked a standoff at major ports on the U.S. West Coast and in China, meaning hundreds of container ships are at sea awaiting berths. Earlier this year, Maersk warned customers that wait times for container ships to unload or pick up at the port of Long Beach near Los Angeles were between 38 and 45 days, with restrictions expected to continue.
