Congestion Issues Expand

North Europe:

Along with all the problems on the West Coast, we are also seeing congestion in Northern European ports. Bad weather, vessel delays, and the West Coast issues have created severe backlog for bookings for departures from North Europe to all USA ports. Please plan ahead as much as possible and send orders as early as you can to avoid delays in planned departures.

More Surcharges:

As importers and exporters continue to escalate the re-routing of cargo to avoid West Coast ports, steamship lines are implementing more surcharges, including re-positioning surcharges for cargo booked to the West Coast via the Gulf or East Coast ports, and potentially adding congestion surcharges for the East Coast. We will do our best to mitigate charges, but, as the situation worsens, the potential additional costs will increase.

Trucker Shortages:

With the laws of supply and demand kicking in, the demand for transloading and trucking from the Gulf and East Coast ports is going up every week. The shortage of trucking services will increase, and truckers will charge a premium for services as the demand continues to rise. We are seeing trucking companies quoting rates with a very short validity.

West Coast:

We will continue to keep you posted as this volatile situation develops on a day-to-day basis. As noted earlier, the PMA is cracking down over the holiday weekend and suspending vessel operations 4 of the next 5 days. Obviously, this only adds to the congestion.