High Levels of Imports into the US are Expected While the Supply Chain Faces More Uncertainty

According to an article from the US-based Supply Chain Management Review, a new port tracker report anticipates high import levels to remain consistent throughout 2022. The article goes on to state that due to a combination of strong consumer demand and continued supply chain challenges causing congestion, US ports could expect possible record levels of retail container imports. The report was issued by the National Retail Federations (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates. NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold commented, “consumers are still spending and the supply chain is still working to keep up. Retailers are also planning for potential additional disruptions this summer from the West Coast port labor contract negotiations.”

Seatrade Maritime News has reported that China’s Ministry of Transport and National Development and Reform Commission has issued a joint notice to reduce port charges starting April 1 and onwards. The aim of this reduction is to reduce shipper and ship owner logistic expenses and promote the optimization of port business development. The notice states that the port infrastructure security fee will no longer be set by the government and will be included in port operation charges. Furthermore, the pilotage fee for international vessels at 18 ports will be reduced, among those ports are Shenzhen, Shanghai, Dalian, and Qingdao.

Just as the world’s supply chain makes efforts to normalize to a certain degree, another challenge is now afoot, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In an analysis article from Foreign Policy, the author mentions the United Kingdom has already barred all Russian ships from entering its ports and many see that the European Union will follow suit shortly. Additionally, three of the world’s biggest container shipping companies have now refused to operate in Russian ports. Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company has already announced that it will suspend all container traffic to and from Russia, while Denmark’s Maesrsk and France’s CMA CGM have also made similar announcements. All in all, it may be too soon to fully understand the conflict's effect on the world’s supply chain, but what is clear, is that there will be more disruptions for the time to come.