Limited feeder vessel capacity between Asia’s secondary ports and major transshipment hubs is creating significant disruptions for both Asian exports and inbound shipments from the US and Europe, according to forwarders and carriers.

Shippers in Thailand and Indonesia are waiting up to a month to secure space, leading to widespread transshipment delays, rolled cargo, and yard congestion at key ports. These issues are being compounded by severe weather, including multiple typhoons in China.

“For Thailand, bookings now require three to four weeks of advance notice,” said a spokesperson for FIBS Logistics in Singapore. “Indonesian cargo typically needs two to three weeks.” Even short-haul shipments, such as from Batam to Singapore, are being affected by the feeder shortage, the spokesperson added.

Forwarders trace the problems back to June, when a tariff-driven cargo surge from Southeast Asia tightened feeder availability. “These challenges are mainly tied to carriers and alliances managing transshipment services out of Southeast Asia,” said Scott Dudley, head of ocean freight for North America at Rhenus Logistics.

The feeder shortage has also led carriers to become more selective about US export bookings. “Direct lanes are in high demand,” said M. Can Fidan, EVP of business development at MTS Logistics. “But transshipment cargo or shipments outside their hub-and-spoke model are being turned away.”

A Hong Kong-based forwarder noted the situation would have been far worse had Southeast Asian nations not struck tariff deals with the US in late July. “Transshipping cargo to second-tier markets like Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam is a mess right now,” the forwarder said.

Advisories from CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, and Kuehne + Nagel confirm major congestion across Asia’s primary hubs, including Singapore, Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao, and Port Klang.

In Singapore, CMA CGM reported up to 60,000 TEUs of transshipment cargo waiting last week, with yard density at 85–90%. Terminal operator PSA has begun rejecting certain boxes and vessels to ease pressure. Heavy berth congestion has caused two-day delays across all PSA terminals.

Shanghai is also severely congested, with delays ranging from two days at Waigaiqiao terminals to four days at Yangshan, following Typhoon Co-May and other storms that disrupted eastern and southern China since mid-July.

At Ningbo, vessels face up to three-day waits to berth, while at Qingdao delays are around two days, according to Hapag-Lloyd.

Source: joc.com