Global Port Congestion Worsens Across Multiple Regions, Straining Supply Chains and Driving Up Shipping Costs
【Global Network Comprehensive Report】Since the third quarter of 2025, the congestion issue at global shipping terminals has continued to deteriorate. Major ports spanning the Middle East, India, Africa, Europe, and North America have successively reported problems such as ships queuing for berthing and extended cargo detention. Combined with multiple variables including geopolitical conflicts and peak shipping seasons, the stability of the global supply chain is facing severe challenges.
As core hubs of global trade, well-known ports such as Shanghai, Ningbo, Singapore, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Antwerp, and Rotterdam have been the first to be affected, and the ripple effect of congestion has spread to a wider range of regions.
Data shows that Europe has become the hardest-hit area by port congestion. At the RWG Terminal of the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the waiting time for some ships to berth has reached 350.83 hours (approximately 14.6 days). For hub ports like Hamburg Port in Germany and Antwerp Port in Belgium, due to labor shortages and blocked inland port evacuation channels, the average waiting time for ships to berth generally exceeds 40 hours, with the maximum daily demurrage fee surpassing 30,000 US dollars. Affected by the Red Sea crisis, a large number of ships have been forced to divert around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, extending the voyage by 14 days compared with the original route, which has further increased the operational load of European ports. Major shipping companies such as Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) have imposed peak season surcharges on Asia-Europe routes, with freight rates on some routes rising by as much as 73%.
The congestion situation in North America is equally grim. As core hubs on the U.S. West Coast, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach often see ships waiting for berthing for more than 7 days during peak seasons. These two ports, which handle over 40% of U.S. imported goods, have repeatedly faced congestion issues due to insufficient railway capacity and poor connection with inland transportation. The railway detention time at ports such as Vancouver and Montreal in Canada has reached 9 days, seriously hampering cargo turnover efficiency.
Ports in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa also face congestion challenges with distinct characteristics. Restricted by outdated infrastructure and low customs clearance efficiency, ports like Mumbai and Chennai in India still see ships waiting for over 7 days even during off-peak seasons. At Durban Port in South Africa and Lagos Port in Nigeria, insufficient yard capacity has led to an average detention time of 7 to 17 days for transshipment cargo at African ports. The average waiting time for ships at Chittagong Port in Bangladesh is 6 to 9 days, and export loading operations are severely restricted by efficiency bottlenecks.
Human factors have further amplified the congestion effect. Recently, port strikes in Rotterdam, Portugal, and Mexico have directly hindered productivity release, while the ongoing nationwide strike in Belgium is likely to exacerbate the congestion at Antwerp Port.
Uncertainties in route selection have added variables to the future congestion situation. Currently, it remains unclear whether and when shipping companies will abandon the route around the Cape of Good Hope. However, the industry generally believes that if a large number of ships return to the traditional Suez Canal route, although it will shorten transportation time and reduce the arrival cycle of individual ships, it may cause ships that were originally scattered to gather at ports, putting greater pressure on the already overburdened terminals in Europe and Asia.
The global port congestion is the result of multiple overlapping factors: the surge in cargo volume driven by the global trade peak season has exceeded the handling capacity of some ports; outdated infrastructure and insufficient automation in some ports have led to low operational efficiency; route diversions caused by geopolitical conflicts have put ports in overloaded operations; coupled with the impact of emergencies such as labor shortages and extreme weather, ultimately forming a vicious cycle of "ship queuing - yard backlog - efficiency decline".
It is worth noting that although the waiting time for ships at some ports has shortened in recent weeks, this is mostly due to the phased decline in shipping demand rather than the substantial improvement in port operational efficiency. The overall operation of ports is still severely disrupted. This year, the scale of ship queuing at many ports has hit a record high, and the congestion situation may continue to deteriorate next year, especially if carriers collectively return to the Suez Canal route.
Facing the persistent congestion challenge, shipping companies and shippers are actively adjusting their response strategies, including switching to alternative ports, arranging shipments during off-peak periods, deploying overseas warehouses, and adopting multimodal transportation methods such as "sea-rail intermodal transport" to reduce risks. The industry predicts that with the continuous release of shipping demand during the European and American Christmas seasons, combined with the capacity adjustment of some ports during the automation transformation period, the pressure of global port congestion may last until the beginning of 2026, and shipping costs will remain at a high level. Port congestion has undoubtedly become one of the most persistent challenges in the operation of the global supply chain.
Paperjoy's professional foreign trade team will continue to closely monitor the development of global port and shipping situations, and provide stable and reliable supply chain support services for customers purchasing Paperjoy's paper cup raw materials and white cardboard products.
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