Port congestion on China-Europe route seen worsening in near term

The congestion at major ports that has affected shipping operations for metals and minerals on the China-to-Europe route is set to worsen in the next three or four months, sources told Fastmarkets during last week's International Colloquium on Refractories conference in Aachen, Germany.

Lead times for cargo shipping from China to European ports have increased in recent months because of a series of operational issues and backlogs congested Chinese ports, causing long delays for incoming and departing vessels.
Fastmarkets has previously reported on these issues affecting northern Chinese ports such as Tianjin, Bayuquan and Dalian, as well as other major Chinese ports such as Qingdao and Shenzhen.
Local Covid-19 restrictions, a backlog of cargo at and outside terminals, a reduced number of port operators and Covid-19 cases identified either on land or on the vessels have been a constant feature of logistics operations, causing sailing disruptions.
But market participants speaking with Fastmarkets in Aachen warned that the logistics issues have spread far beyond Chinese waters, with ports in Europe increasingly becoming affected.

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