Shortage of shipping containers at Shanghai port leaves exporters scrambling to meet delivery schedules

Name: Cargo ship loses more than 1,800 containers in Pacific storm
Uploaded: 2020-12-13T06:46:58.000Z
Duration: 1 min 44 s
Description: Cargo ship loses more than 1,800 containers in Pacific storm

With exporters scrambling to meet delivery schedules and commitments, shipping freight rates from China have surged by more than 300 per cent since March

Uneven distribution of containers at major ports around the world is causing a major headache for Chinese exporters

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Empty freight containers stacked up at Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao port. A shortage of containers is posing problem for Chinese exporters. Photo: Daniel Ren

Daniel Renin Shanghai

Published: 2:46pm, 13 Dec 2020Updated: 10:48pm, 13 Dec 2020

Shipping executive Howard Xiong has spent most of his time in the office since September frantically calling ocean liners and agents to book containers for his clients.

This has proved to be a daunting task as containers are in short supply. With exporters scrambling to meet delivery schedules and commitments, shipping freight rates from China have surged by more than 300 per cent since March.

“During my 25 years in the industry, I have never seen such an acute shortage of containers,” said Xiong, an assistant general manager with freight forwarder Shanghai Jump International. “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought a dramatic change to the shipping business in Shanghai, for better or worse.”

Since China emerged from the coronavirus lockdown in June, the country has regained its reputation as the world’s factory, churning out goods at full tilt to meet global demand. However, an uneven distribution of containers at major ports around the world is causing a major headache for exporters. They either have to pay thousands of dollars extra to book shipping space instantly or wait several weeks before their goods can be transported.

“To a certain extent, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a boon for Chinese manufacturers and shipping businesses because lockdowns in Southeast Asian countries forced Western buyers to turn to the Chinese market for goods,” said Han Haifeng, chief executive of Shanghai New Era Printing, which supplies packaging materials to export-oriented manufacturers. “The question is whether the booming exports and surging shipping demand will last.”

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Cargo ship loses more than 1,800 containers in Pacific storm

China’s exports hit an all-time monthly high in November, climbing 21.1 per cent year on year to US$268.1 billion, while imports grew by 4.5 per to US$192.7 billion in the same period. This helped to widen the trade surplus by 102.9 per cent to US$75.4 billion from the same period in 2019.