Global container dwell times surge in May, straining supply chains

Posted on June 18, 2025   |  

Kingston, Jamaica recorded the highest container dwell time in May, with containers staying over 12 days, signaling major yard congestion.

In Asia, Chittagong (Bangladesh) faced serious delays, with vessels waiting over 71 hours to berth, marking it among the least efficient ports for the second month in a row.

Colón (Panama) and Cartagena (Colombia) saw congestion due to slow yard operations, not vessel delays, with dwell times exceeding 9 and 8.5 days, respectively.

Durban (South Africa) posted the longest average berth stay in Africa at 3.8 days.

In Mombasa (Kenya), containers stayed in port for over 4.5 days, raising concerns about East African logistics bottlenecks.

Despite challenges, there's optimism in South Africa around Transnet’s port reform and recovery efforts.

Taipei recorded the world’s shortest ship turnaround time in May, with an average of just 0.38 days at berth.