Metal companies transporting material in containers are facing fresh disruption to shipping following the blockage of the Suez Canal last month, sources told Fastmarkets.
The main immediate legacy of March's
Suez Canal obstruction has been worsening congestion at several global ports following major disruptions to vessel scheduling. These delays to shipping times have also exacerbated shortages in container availability across the globe.
In the week ended Friday April 23, the Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) was at 2,409 points in its composite freight index, up by 2.8% week on week and continuing the index's strong rise since the start of the month.
Shipping schedules have been heavily disrupted as well by a lack of space on services out of North America over the past week, the Ningbo Exchange said, while some container lines have started to restrict use of larger containers on routes out of Thailand due to a lack of availability.
Freight costs on the...