As a result of long delays by ships, containers return to terminals, which leads to overloading of warehouses. Cargo ship congestion will also ensure higher prices.
Disruptions in global supply chains lead to problems at ports – the port of Hamburg, which is important to Austria, is also clearly feeling the effects. As a result of long ship delays, containers are backing up at the terminals, which leads to warehouse overload, as Hans-Jörg Heims, a spokesman for Hamburg-based port logistics company HHLA, said. A number of ships are currently having to wait in Helgoland until a place becomes available at their destination port.
According to Heims, there are ten freighters that currently want to go to Hamburg. “It could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.” Despite all efforts and a large-scale deployment of personnel and technology, there are delays in handling.
Traffic jams in China arrive in Europe late
How did these problems arise? “Triggered by the corona pandemic, there have been disruptions to supply chains across the world for two years,” said Heims. “As a result of the blockades in the big Chinese cities, operations in the ports were repeatedly interrupted. And then the ships accumulate there. If the congestion ends, the wave reaches Europe a few weeks later.” The HHLA has always managed these situations well over the past two years. But ship schedules have gotten out of hand due to other events such as the Suez Canal day blockade by the large container ship “Ever Given” in March 2021, bad weather and, more recently, the war of aggression. of Russia against Ukraine.
The HHLA has already occupied additional areas with containers. “But we are reaching our limits the longer the situation in the supply chains remains so tense,” Heims reported. The more containers there are in a warehouse, the more effort involved in handling and the longer it takes to release. It used to take 500 meters to bring a container from the warehouse to the ship. Today this is sometimes 1.5 kilometers – depending on where the container is. The situation at a terminal in the port of Hamburg was hampered by the onshore power construction works. As a result, a crib could not be used at times.
Shutdown leads to higher prices
Cargo ship congestion will also ensure higher prices. “Delivery bottlenecks will now also be felt in Germany,” Maximilian Butek, German business delegate in Shanghai, told the German Press Agency on Friday. According to estimates, the export volume of the world’s largest port has dropped dramatically.
Many companies have not received their goods from the country for more than three weeks, the delegate said. Alternative delivery routes through other ports were also not enough to cushion the loss. “China’s supply shortages will continue to have a negative impact on Germany’s already high inflation,” Butek said.
“The shock waves that the shutdown is causing here in China are still not fully understandable,” said the delegate. It can take months to correct disruptions in supply chains. The door itself is not the biggest problem. Because of the strict corona measures, the difficulty lies in transporting the goods by truck to and from the port.
All affected product groups
“In principle, this applies to all product groups. But the concern is particularly great with electronic items and raw materials or preliminary products,” said the delegate. Blocking now affects all companies – regardless of industry or size. There are massive deficiencies in supply chains, in transport and logistics options, or in personnel and production.
The port city, with a population of 26 million, was affected by extensive month-long curfews. The metropolis is at the center of the biggest wave of corona in China since the beginning of the pandemic, more than two years ago. With curfews, mass testing and quarantine, the Chinese leadership is following a strict zero Covid strategy, which is being severely tested by the arrival of the BA.2 omicron variant.
Hapag-Lloyd sees first signs of improvement
Rolf Habben Jansen, head of shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, is cautiously optimistic. “Now we are also seeing the first signs that more cargo is being moved through the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo,” he told television channels RTL and ntv. He therefore personally hopes that the situation at Chinese ports will normalize as much as possible in four to six weeks.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) estimates that the current problems will only have a full impact on Germany in about two months. The goods take around 30 to 40 days on their way to Hamburg, after which they have to be transported. “There may be delays with electronic items such as televisions or tablets, or with intermediate goods for German production,” said IfW trade expert Vincent Stamer. This can affect car manufacturers or machine builders, for example.
(APA)