The total number of container ships waiting to berth at U.S. ports is 130, down from a peak of 153 in July. However, the volume has dramatically shifted from the West coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (currently 8 container ships) to ports on the Gulf and East Coasts. This shift has been caused by a combination of easing import demand along with concerns about West Coast expiring port labor contract and expected peak congestion. (See more at: American Shipper, “Only 8 ships waiting off Southern California …” by Greg Miller, 8/30/2022)

Approximately 1,900 workers at the Port of Felixstowe, as members of the Unite union went on strike yesterday, Sunday, August 21 on the issue of worker’s salary in the wake of crisis inflation in the UK. This is the first strike at the port in over 30 years which is expected to last for eight days and comes after other recent worker actions in rail and bus transportation services. As this is the largest UK container port, the action is expected to disrupt both the supply chain and the consumer market across the nation. (More at: The Guardian, “Workers at UK’s biggest container port .… strike over pay,“ Jess Clark, 8/21/2022)

America’s DOT announced last week the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grants, providing $2.2 billion for 166 projects. Transport Topics explained that “The funds are meant to modernize roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports and intermodal transportation.” Many of the projects will involve work at U.S. ports to reduce truck waiting times, including grants for improvements at Port of LA ($20 M), Port of Miami ($16 M), Port of Wilmington, NC ($18 M), and Port Arthur, TX (13.6 M) as examples. (See Transport Topics, "DOT Awards $2.2 Billion …..” by Noel Fletcher, 8/11/2022)

Decliningriver levels on the Rhine is providing a substantial threat to the Germaneconomy. The low water levels is negatively impacting inland traffic and likelyto further restrict traffic at the town of Kaub by tomorrow, Friday the 12th of August. The Maritime Executive explains that the Rhine is the most important river for the German commerce, carrying a big share of the country’s energy fuels and other products. (More at The Maritime Executive, “Water Levels on the Rhine Continue to Drop ……. ,” August 10, 2022)

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The Maritime Executive reported in the first week of July that major port congestion remains a problem in Europe. Hapag Lloyd announced an introduction of congestion surcharges at the two French ports, Le Havre and Fos-Sur-Mer. This surcharge will impact “all import and export truck haulage moves, for all container types,” explained Hapag Lloyd. The port congestion along with labor shortages are contributing factors also causing reduced productivity. (More at The Maritime Executive, “Major European Ports are Experiencing Congestion Challenges” July 4, 2022)

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The state of the post COVID economy in 2022 is raising major concern as conditions include a huge level of product inventories, rising inflation, a potential impending recession, and a decline in consumer spending along with a giant supply chain bullwhip (see bullwhipeffect).  FreightWaves reported this week that “softness in container markets will have a big impact on trucking in July.” In addition, over the past two months, the average of container spot rates from China to the U.S. West Coast has dramatically dropped by 41%. (More at: FreightWaves, “A potential economic recession and the supply chain bullwhip ..” by Craig Fuller, 6/21/2022)