Global trade is facing renewed disruption as port bottlenecks grip multiple regions worldwide. The situation has intensified the spotlight on terminal capacity, with shipping giant Maersk pointing to a 15-year deficit in port infrastructure investment following the global financial crisis.
Amid these growing concerns, maritime research consultancy Drewry has released new “market signals” risk data, offering critical insight into the complex factors driving current delays and what stakeholders can expect moving forward.
Drewry’s latest risk summary highlights a distinct deterioration across two vital metrics: global average vessel waiting times are lengthening, and containership schedule reliability is on the decline.
While acute weather events—such as typhoons in China during early August (Week 32), which forced vessels to wait an average of 3.6 days for a berth—compound the problem, the data reveals a deeper, long-term structural issue.
The global average for ship waiting times has nearly doubled when comparing the first seven months of this year to the same period in 2019. Furthermore, a larger share of a vessel’s total port call duration is now consumed by waiting for a berth rather than being actively handled at the terminal.
Waiting times accounted for a significant portion of a 31% jump in average time spent by containerships in port between 2019 and this year, though regional variations remain wide.
Ultimately, containerships are demonstrating lower productivity in ports compared to pre-pandemic standards, spending unprecedented hours sitting idle offshore.
The mounting pressure has sparked debate over the primary catalysts behind the crisis. Speaking during a financial presentation on August 13, Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk, noted that insufficient container port capacity is triggering severe congestion across several regions—including Europe, the East Coast of South America, West Africa, and the Middle East—fuelled by strong container export growth out of Asia.
“This growth and increasing trade imbalances comes on the heels of about 15 years since the financial crisis, where investment into terminal capacity has lagged,” Clerc stated.
However, Drewry offers a broader perspective, indicating that the escalating risk of port congestion is tied to a complex web of industry trends and operational constraints, many of which remain entirely outside the direct control of terminal operators.
As shipping lines and shippers navigate these escalating risks, industry stakeholders are being urged to factor prolonged turnaround times and tightening schedule reliability into their logistics planning.
