Containers out of northern China are becoming increasingly hard to get hold of, report forwarders.\u00a0A surprisingly strong market, plus lower vessel capacity due to the Red Sea crisis, is creating a shortage of both ships and containers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a very real shortage of 40\u2019 HC in China \u2013 we are all running out,\u201d said Hans-Henrik Nielson, global development director at CargoGulf.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I say it\u2019s week-to-week scrambling, I\u2019m really not exaggerating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ligentia confirmed the shortage on May 20 in a message to customers. \u201cEquipment stock, particularly in North China, is tight and varies daily based on vessel arrivals and the discharge of empty containers.\u201d<\/p>\n
It added that in Shanghai, \u201calmost all carriers are lacking empties, especially CMA and ANL\u201d. Vessel waiting time at the port is now three to 14 days, it added, due to port congestion. \u201cAcross almost all carriers we are seeing schedule delays.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also noted that carriers are struggling to obtain containers across many more Chinese ports, including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in Yantian, Cosco, HMM, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC in Ningbo, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk in Tianjin, and Cosco and CMA CGM in Qingdao.<\/p>\n