Prime Freight’s summary of a June 2024 report by Bloomberg, as published by gCaptain. Read the original for the full story.
In June 2024 Bloomberg reported that congestion at Singapore, caused by ships rerouting around Africa to avoid attacks in the Red Sea, was bringing the container peak season forward and pushing freight rates higher.
Ships sailing via the Cape of Good Hope could no longer refuel or unload at Middle Eastern ports, so more of them bunched up off Singapore and cargo stayed in port for longer. Jefferies analysts saw congestion as a growing risk as peak volumes arrived and doubted normal trade patterns would return in 2024.
Drewry’s Jayendu Krishna said nearby Malaysian ports such as Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas were not easy substitutes. Singapore had about 149 weekly mainline connections in the second quarter, nearly double Port Klang’s and more than three times Tanjung Pelepas’s, and diverting cargo meant extra trucking, cost and customs work. Exporters in Singapore might have to hold stock longer than planned. Jefferies expected the early peak to end early too, with rates starting to ease by September.
What it meant for shippers
Congestion at a hub like Singapore delays not only local cargo but every transhipment connection that runs through it. During the Red Sea diversions, allowing extra time on routings via Singapore, comparing direct services where available and booking peak-season space early limited delays and rate exposure.