Yantian congestion forces CMA-CGM to implement surcharges

Posted in Container Shipping by Tanja Lohrmann on Jun 21, 2021 at 08:12.

The Yantian congestion has escalated to a level where container lines are now forced to take emergency action. CMA CGM has become the latest shipping carrier to apply the port congestion surcharge (PCS) on its reefer containers headed towards Yantian Port.

The covid-19 led restrictions have disrupted the complete supply chain around the world and the worst affected is the Yantian Port which is facing massive congestion.

The French carrier, CMA CGM has said that most of the reefer plugs are already occupied, and imposing a PCS became the need of the hour for them. They have introduced a PCS of US$1,250 per reefer box starting from June 11.

The PCS of CMA CGM has currently excluded reefer boxes from the US and territories, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay as the surcharges for these territories will be imposed from 21 July.

CMA CGM has asked its customers to change their port of discharge or else to maintain the quality of reefer cargo, the company will be forced to divert reefer boxes to any other available suitable port. The company has announced that those reefer units that have been already re-routed, will be imposed with a specific surcharge at the time of reloading when space is made available at Yantian Port.

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The congestion at Yantian has already surpassed the earlier congestion caused due to Suez blockage. All major shipping lines are exploring alternatives to the Yantian. One Network Express (ONE) had already placed a congestion surcharge of US$1,000 earlier in June for all their reefer cargo destined to Yantian. One Network had said that they were left with no choices other than to implement surcharges on customers to cover up the additional cost accumulating due to Yantian congestion.

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Other major shipping lines such as Hapag Lloyd and Maersk have also canceled a significant number of calls at the Yantian Port. The container lines are working to minimize the disruption in their schedule and avoid the chaos in the supply chain due to covid-19 led restrictions. Open FleetMon Explorer to dive right into the port of Yantian.