Congestion at European Ports Intensifies! Trade War Poses Threat to Global Shipping

According to a report released last Friday (May 23) by London-based maritime consultancy Drewry, port congestion at major hubs in Northern Europe is intensifying due to the tariff policies successively announced by US President Donald Trump, and this situation is expected to worsen.

The report pointed out that container ships are facing increasing berthing delays at major European ports, including Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Bremerhaven, and are currently struggling to address the backlog of cargo.

Data from the report showed that during the period from late March to mid-May, the waiting time for berthing at Germany's Bremerhaven increased by 77%; delays at Hamburg Port increased by 49%; and delays at Antwerp Port increased by 37%. During the same period, waiting times also extended at Rotterdam Port and Felixstowe Port in the UK.

Several factors have contributed to

the causes of port congestion include labor shortages, low river water levels, and the trade war initiated by the US.

It is reported that a nationwide strike on May 20 at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium further strained port operations. Prior to this, the Port of Antwerp was already facing multiple operational challenges, including a backlog of cargo from previous strikes, tight yard capacity, an imbalance between import and export cargo, and adjustments to berthing times due to alliance restructuring.

At this juncture, Belgium announced another nationwide strike for May 20, which will result in the suspension of all shipping operations at the Port of Antwerp during the strike. Combined with the already strained situation, this is expected to pose additional challenges for container port departures and arrivals.

In addition, low water levels on the Rhine River have limited barge capacity, particularly at the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam, further exacerbating inland logistics strains.

To make matters worse, the US's repeated tariff policies have caught exporters completely off guard, making it difficult for them to arrange orders, which has also led to non-seasonal fluctuations in shipping.

For example, the previous mutual tariff concessions between China and the US led to a surge in cargo transportation between the two countries, with companies eager to transport goods during the "truce" period.

Trump's latest flip-flop occurred over the weekend. Last Friday, US President Trump publicly denounced the EU for unfair trade practices and threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the EU early next month. Just two days later, Trump's attitude shifted again, as he agreed to extend the deadline for imposing the 50% tariff on the EU to July 9 and claimed to have had good communication with the EU.

This policy uncertainty has also prompted shipping giants such as MSC Mediterranean Shipping to implement freight rate increases and peak season surcharges starting from June, particularly for cargo originating from Asia.

"Additional policy uncertainty has inflicted heavy losses on global economic activity," said a research report from Oxford Economics on Saturday (May 24). The institute estimated that the countries most affected include Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, and the Netherlands, as these countries are highly dependent on exports to the US.

In fact, the shipping bottleneck issue is not confined to Europe. According to a report by Drewry, similar situations have emerged in Shenzhen, Los Angeles, and New York, where the number of container ships waiting to berth has been increasing over the past three weeks.

Given this situation, shipping companies are adjusting their routes and imposing congestion-related surcharges on exporters.