Houthi vessel attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as other ocean freight disruptions are causing extended lead times for cargo moving from Europe to China, sometimes up to 30 days, says Trade Lane manager Nicoleen Nielsen.
More importantly, adds the supply chain professional from Bidvest International Logistics: “These longer transit times are impacting South Africa in the form of equipment and vessel shortages,” she says.
“Equipment is also failing at South African ports. Compounding the problem is that MSC, the largest carrier out of the Far East to South Africa, has decided to allocate its bigger vessels to trade between the Far East and Europe.
"This has cut about 4 000 TEUs of volume from the Far East to South Africa. Suddenly, people are trying to find space on smaller vessels for equipment.”
Logistics operators are monitoring developments and looking at alternative ports to avoid delays.
Diversifying suppliers and routes is helping to minimise dependency on a single source or trade lane.
- This post is an excerpt from a column that can be read here: "Planning for unexpected."
