Global shipping capacity, especially in busy routes between Asia, Europe, and the US, has improved to pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by Dutch multinational bank ING. The shortage of shipping space occurred amid growing customer demand from Europe and North America as their economies reopened from the pandemic lockdowns. At the same time, exporting countries are still struggling to manage the outbreak, imposing measures that dampen their manufacturing activity.
However, the rising shipping capacity would unlikely be the quick fix of the ongoing supply chain frictions worldwide, the bank added. Blank sailings are expected to continue posing uncertainty for importers and exporters amid the post-pandemic recovery. The supply chain disruption emerges as another trade barrier during the pandemic. Governments' subsidies and stimulus to domestic industry have also made it more difficult to export products to overseas markets.
Separately, leaders of some of the busiest US seaports expect ship logjams to extend into the summer of 2022. These ports have already seen record numbers of containers and waiting vessels as retailers replenish depleted inventories ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season. Congestion also extends into warehouses and distribution networks across the US.
