Asia container freight faces delays due to typhoon, tight capacity
SINGAPORE: Container freight operations at major Chinese ports are gradually restarting after Typhoon Dolphin, but cargo backlogs, vessel delays and tight capacity could continue disrupting Asia’s supply chains for another one to two weeks, while congestion across north Asia has surged following the latest storm.
Dolphin was the strongest of three typhoons that hit China in five weeks , causing significant disruption at Ningbo and Shanghai while tracking north toward Qingdao.
China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the storm had weakened to a tropical depression by 11 August, although heavy rainfall and flood risks persisted across parts of central and northern China.
More than 1 million people were evacuated ahead of the storm, which disrupted transport and logistics operations across eastern China, according to media reports.
According to container shipping analyst firm Linerlytica, port congestion across North Asia has surged, with more than 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent unitscontainership capacity effectively tied up after Typhoon Dolphin struck China’s eastern coast on 9 August. The storm forced vessels to seek shelter away from its path, disrupting schedules across regional shipping networks.
Ningbo and Shanghai were the hardest-hit ports, with terminal closures beginning on 7-8 August, while congestion has also spread to ports in southern China and is expected to take several weeks to clear fully as carriers work through vessel backlogs.
“In China, trucking and warehousing operations across Shanghai and Ningbo are coming back online following Typhoon Dolphin, with both cities easing their emergency response levels, though vessel and terminal recovery is expected to take longer as ports work through accumulated cargo and rescheduled sailings,” Zencargo said in its 11 August market update.
“The backlog is also raising the risk of missed sailings; carriers may roll cargo, bump containers from booked vessels, or skip Shanghai calls entirely, with delays and revised schedules likely to persist over the coming one to two weeks.”
The latest disruption follows Typhoon Noul, which shut down ports in southern China in late July while regional hubs were still recovering from an earlier storm.
Container freight rate benchmarking and booking platform Freightos said freight rates across all major trade lanes, including Asia-Europe routes where demand is cooling, could face upward pressure from supply-side constraints caused by successive typhoons. Some carriers are already omitting Shanghai port calls because of severe congestion, while multi-day delays have also been reported in Ningbo, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
CHEMICAL MARKETS BEGIN TO FEEL IMPACT
The logistics disruption is beginning to spill over into China’s petrochemical markets, with market participants citing delays to cargo movements and heightened concerns over prompt material availability.
Acrylonitrile (ACN) producer Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical raised its weekly ACN price by yuan (CNY) 500/tonne to CNY13,000/tonne ex-tank, while noting that the typhoon had disrupted logistics in east China and contributed to near-term supply concerns.
Market participants said temporary port closures, vessel delays and restrictions on cargo movements in eastern China could affect the movement of both feedstocks and finished petrochemical products, particularly in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Typhoon-related disruption has also provided some support to Asia’s toluene market despite sluggish downstream demand. Traders said reduced port activity and slower cargo flows in eastern China helped underpin sentiment, as the storm curtailed logistics operations and added uncertainty over near-term supply availability.
Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers.
They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks.
CHINA PORTS WORK THROUGH BACKLOG
Weather-related disruption at Ningbo-Zhoushan compounded pre-existing congestion in Shanghai, where delays and elevated yard density had already been reported before Dolphin made landfall, according to Zenargo.
Weekend closures included a halt to empty and laden container handling across major Ningbo terminals including Beilun 1, 2 and 3, Daxie, shan, Yongzhou and Zhenhai.
Jinyang Terminal was fully suspended, while pilotage services were halted, preventing vessel arrivals and departures during the peak of the storm.“As the typhoon weakens, terminals across Ningbo-Zhoushan (Beilun No.1, No.2, No.3, Meidong, Daxie, Yongzhou) are resuming laden container gate-in and pick-up, ” Zencargo said.
“Once terminals fully reopen, recovery is expected to take several days as ports work through a backlog of waiting vessels and accumulated containers. Shippers should anticipate delayed vessel departures, longer transit times, and revised arrival schedules over the coming one to two weeks.”
Congestion remains acute across several Chinese gateways. Freightos reported that some carriers are omitting Shanghai calls because of severe congestion, while delays continue at Ningbo, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
