Prime Freight’s summary of a December 2021 report by The Maritime Executive. Read the original for the full story.
In December 2021 Sea-Intelligence described a new kind of blank sailing: departures cancelled not because carriers had too many ships, but because port congestion kept vessels from returning in time.
The effect was greatest between Asia and the North American West Coast, where up to a quarter of weekly capacity was being cancelled. In 2020, when blankings there were mainly a response to weak demand early in the pandemic, they averaged about 12% of capacity; for 2021 the expected average was close to 20%. Since week 41 more than 20% of capacity had been cancelled every week, reaching 28.4% in week 44, well after Golden Week, so the holiday was not the cause.
Sea-Intelligence’s chief executive, Alan Murphy, explained that these sailings were mostly cancelled shortly before departure, as delays became clear. That meant the sharp fall in blankings scheduled for the next 12 weeks did not necessarily signal relief. The firm also reported that only about a third of ships had been on schedule in October.
What it meant for shippers
A sailing cancelled at short notice means cargo rolls to the next available vessel with little warning. On congested trades, reconfirming the sailing close to cut-off and allowing extra time on transpacific shipments reduced the risk of missed delivery dates.