Box Port congestion back to pre-Covid levels as cargo demand slowed by January

Posted on February 3, 2023   |  

As of January 1 this year, a company takes an average of 63 days to deliver goods to truck or rail carriers after booking with an ocean carrier which is an 8-day decline compared to the same quarter of last year.

The low demand for goods shipping out of Asia reduced port congestion and resulted in shorter actual transit times.

In China, Covid spread rapidly in the past month, experiencing high congestion at its ports which was not seen for two and a half years, while the US east coast is at a 1-year low, and Europe's congestion is down to 2-year lows.

The declining congestion levels added pressure on the freight market and on carriers that had the upper hand position during the covid years.