Port Congestion｜Week 36 Line-up Typhoon Impacts Ease in Asia, While West-Africa Congestion Persists 港口拥堵 | 36 周 line-up亚洲台风影响减弱 西非拥堵未见缓解

Asian Ports: Shanghai & Ningbo See Operational Recovery, Mundra Remains the Key Risk Variable

The most notable shift across Asian ports this week lies in the gradual return to normal operations for East-China ports. Shanghai and Ningbo, previously disrupted by typhoons, are now clearing accumulated cargo backlogs, and vessel queue conditions have improved compared with the prior week. Nevertheless, as vessels with deferred arrivals keep calling at the terminals, yard utilization at some berths stays relatively high, and full schedule reliability has not yet been restored.

In contrast, India’s Port of Mundra continues to stand out as Asia’s primary risk hotspot for the week. Ongoing work stoppages by empty-container yard operators and container hauliers are disrupting empty container pick-up, return as well as landside transportation. For export cargo interests, the main challenge is not vessel berthing delays. Instead, constraints on empty-container availability, factory container loading and trucking services prevent some shipments from reaching terminals as scheduled.

• Manila in the Philippines continues to record relatively high average vessel waiting times.
• Busan in South Korea faces mounting pressure driven by growing transshipment cargo volumes.
• Singapore is operating at high capacity, yet overall conditions remain manageable.

亚洲港口：上海、宁波恢复提速，Mundra仍是最大变量

亚洲港口本周最大的变化是中国华东港口逐步恢复正常运营。此前受台风影响的上海港（Shanghai）和宁波港（Ningbo）正在消化积压货量，船舶等待情况较前一周有所改善。不过，由于前期积压船舶陆续到港，部分码头堆场利用率仍然偏高，船期稳定性尚未完全恢复。

相比之下，印度Mundra（蒙德拉）港仍是本周亚洲最值得关注的风险点。空箱堆场运营商与集装箱运输商的停工行动持续影响空箱提取、返还以及陆侧运输。对于出口货主而言，目前最大的影响并非船舶无法靠泊，而是空箱供应、工厂装箱和拖车运输环节受到限制，部分货物难以按计划进港。

菲律宾马尼拉港（Manila）平均等待时间仍维持在较高水平，韩国釜山港（Busan）继续受到转运货量增长影响，新加坡港（Singapore）则保持高负荷运行状态，但整体仍处于可控范围。

African Ports: West-Africa Congestion Continues, Durban Faces Sustained Pressure

Africa remains one of the world’s most severely congestion-hit regions.

• Conakry (Guinea): Constrained by limited terminal yard capacity, the port keeps seeing extended vessel waiting times.
• Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Tema (Ghana): Persistent road bottlenecks, equipment maintenance work and yard-space pressure undermine schedule reliability.
• Durban (South Africa): Vessel waiting times stay elevated. Apart from terminal-productivity shortfalls, insufficient landside hinterland transport capacity acts as a major obstacle preventing efficiency gains.

For carriers deploying services to Africa, substantial improvements in delay risks across West-African and South-African ports are unlikely to materialize in the near term.

非洲港口：西非拥堵持续，德班压力仍然较大

非洲仍然是全球拥堵最严重的区域之一。

几内亚科纳克里港（Conakry）继续受到堆场能力限制影响，船舶等待时间维持高位；科特迪瓦阿比让港（Abidjan）和加纳特马港（Tema）依旧受到道路拥堵、设备维护以及堆场压力影响，船期稳定性较差。

南非德班港（Durban）仍保持较高等待时间。近期除了码头效率问题外，港区陆侧运输能力不足依然是限制港口效率提升的重要因素。对于经营非洲航线的船东而言，西非和南非港口的延误风险短期内仍难以明显改善。

European Ports: Rotterdam Strike Takes Effect, Uncertainty Lingers Over German Port Labour Talks

The key European development this week unfolded in the Netherlands. On 4 September, industrial action commenced at selected terminals in the Port of Rotterdam, disrupting truck-related container handling operations. Although the stoppage was limited in duration, cargo flows and landside transport efficiency have been disturbed. Some container volumes have diverted to alternative nearby ports and terminals, and knock-on impacts may linger for several days after the strike concludes.

In Germany, port backlogs triggered by earlier industrial action at Hamburg and Bremerhaven are still in the recovery phase. Terminals remain operational, yet labour negotiations have not reached a final settlement. Further industrial action cannot be ruled out for the period ahead.

Meanwhile, low-water levels on the Rhine River have not been fully resolved. Inland waterway movements for certain bulk cargoes remain constrained, creating continuous pressure on cargo flows between European seaports and inland hinterlands.

欧洲港口：鹿特丹罢工落地，德国港口谈判仍存不确定性

欧洲本周最大的事件来自荷兰。9月4日，鹿特丹港（Rotterdam）相关码头罢工正式实施，部分码头卡车处理业务受到影响。虽然停工时间有限，但货物流转和陆侧运输效率受到扰动，部分集装箱流向周边港口和其他码头，预计影响将在罢工结束后继续持续数日。

德国方面，汉堡港（Hamburg）、不来梅哈芬港（Bremerhaven）此前罢工造成的积压仍在恢复过程中。虽然港口保持运营，但劳资谈判尚未彻底解决，后续仍存在进一步工业行动的可能。

与此同时，莱茵河低水位问题仍未完全缓解，部分大宗货物内河运输继续受到限制，对欧洲港口与内陆之间的货物流转形成持续压力。

Middle-East Ports: Security Risks Outweigh Physical Congestion Risks

Ports including Jebel Ali, Fujairah and Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates report no notable port congestion. Vessel berthing and cargo-handling activities are largely proceeding as normal.

Even so, the primary concern for ship-owners operating in the Middle-East region lies not with terminal congestion itself, but with shipping-lane security and climbing insurance costs. Uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea trade routes continues to shape operational decisions and vessel-schedule arrangements.

中东港口：港安全风险仍高于拥堵风险

阿联酋杰贝阿里港（Jebel Ali）、富查伊拉港（Fujairah）以及豪尔费坎港（Khor Fakkan）均未出现明显拥堵，船舶靠泊和装卸基本正常。

不过，对于船东而言，中东地区当前最大的风险仍然来自航道安全和保险成本，而非港口拥堵本身。霍尔木兹海峡和红海航线的不确定性仍然影响部分运营决策和船期安排。

American Ports: Rail & Landside Logistics Remain Bottlenecks

Major ports along the US East and West Coasts are seeing relatively low vessel waiting times. Several Canadian ports, however, continue to suffer from rail-capacity limitations, with only modest progress observed for inland cargo evacuation efficiency.

Turning to South America, Santos and Paranaguá in Brazil are entering their peak agricultural-export season. As a result, vessel waiting times are moderately higher compared with North-American counterparts, yet overall conditions stay within manageable boundaries.

美洲港口：铁路和陆侧运输仍是瓶颈

美国东西海岸主要港口等待时间维持在较低水平，加拿大部分港口仍受到铁路运力限制影响，内陆疏运效率改善有限。

南美方面，巴西桑托斯港（Santos）和巴拉那瓜港（Paranaguá）继续受到农产品出口旺季影响，船舶等待时间略高于北美港口，但整体仍处于可控范围。

Weekly Observations

On one hand, ports such as Shanghai and Ningbo are gradually bouncing back from typhoon-related disruptions, bringing down aggregate pressure across Asian port networks. On the other hand, the ongoing work stoppage in Mundra has evolved beyond empty-container management issues, turning into a sustained disruption affecting landside logistics and the whole export supply chain.

本周观察

一方面，上海、宁波等此前受台风影响的港口正在逐步恢复，亚洲港口整体压力有所下降；另一方面，Mundra罢工仍未结束，已经从空箱管理问题演变为影响陆侧运输和出口物流链的持续事件。

Within Europe, while the Rotterdam strike was short-lived, it created measurable disruption to container flows and trucking services. Future developments around labour negotiations at German ports warrant continued monitoring.

For ship-owners and shipping operators, three key areas deserve close attention over the coming week:

• Whether industrial action at Mundra will escalate further;
• How rapidly cargo flows can normalize following the Rotterdam strike;
• Whether vessel waiting times will keep rising at heavily congested ports across WestAfrica and South-Africa.

欧洲方面，鹿特丹罢工虽然时间不长，但对集装箱流转和卡车运输造成了一定扰动；德国港口劳资谈判后续发展仍值得关注。

对于船东和运营方而言，未来一周需要重点关注三件事：一是Mundra罢工是否继续扩大；二是鹿特丹罢工后的货物流转恢复情况；三是西非和南非高拥堵港口等待时间是否进一步上升。