SIMIC

PORT congestion is worsening at key gateways in northern Europe and other hubs, according to a new report which suggests trade wars could spread maritime disruptions to Asia and the US and push up shipping rates.

Waiting times for berth space jumped 77 per cent in Bremerhaven, Germany, between late March and mid-May, according to the report from Drewry, a maritime consultancy in London.



The delays rose 37 per cent in Antwerp and 49 per cent in Hamburg over the same stretch, with Rotterdam and the UK's Felixstowe also showing longer waits, according to Bloomberg.



Labour shortages and low water levels on the Rhine River are the main culprits, hindering barge traffic to and from inland locations.



Compounding the constraints is US President Donald Trump's temporary rollback on 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports, which has pulled forward shipping demand between the world's largest economies.



"Port delays are stretching transit times, disrupting inventory planning and pushing shippers to carry extra stock," Drewry said.



"Adding to the pressure, the transpacific eastbound trade is showing signs of an early peak season, fuelled by a 90-day pause in US-China tariffs, set to expire on August 14."



Similar patterns are emerging in Shenzhen as well as Los Angeles and New York, "where the number of container ships awaiting berth has been increasing since" late-April, it said.



Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive officer of Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd, said on a webinar last week that, although he's seen recent signs of improvement at European ports, he expects it will take "another six to eight weeks before we have that under control".



US tariffs - combined with sudden threats and truces - make it difficult for importers and exporters to calibrate their orders, causing unseasonal swings in demand. For shipping lines, those translate into delays and higher costs requiring freight rate hikes.