More Ships Don’t Always Mean More Space

Someone out there needs to hear these facts…

Port congestion is currently tying up around 1.7 million TEU of container shipping capacity, roughly equivalent to the capacity of almost the entire Evergreen fleet.

That sounds like a huge number, but what does it actually mean?

When a vessel is stuck waiting at a congested port, the space on that vessel is effectively unavailable for the next shipment it was meant to carry. The ship hasn’t disappeared, but its capacity is temporarily tied up.

According to Sea-Intelligence, around 5% of global container fleet capacity was effectively absorbed by delays in June.

And the delays themselves are getting longer. Before the pandemic, a vessel arriving late was typically around three to four days behind schedule. Today, that average is closer to five to five and a half days.

This is important because thousands of new container ships have entered the global fleet, increasing the amount of capacity available.

But more ships don’t necessarily mean more space when you need it.

If vessels are spending longer waiting at ports, that capacity isn't moving cargo. It can contribute to schedule disruptions, missed connections and, ultimately, less reliable supply chains.

For importers and exporters, this is why looking only at the number of ships in the global fleet doesn’t tell the whole story.

Capacity is only useful when it is actually moving.