With our portfolio of international container shipping services, and strong presence in the European market, the U-Freight Group, is concerned that despite the retail peak season fast approaching, fresh supply chain disruptions are brewing – with planned strikes and contract negotiations at the UK port of Felixstowe looking likely to disrupt the UK’s supply of goods during this important sales period.

Reports suggest that average import container dwell times are up 69% to 6.57 days, from last week at 3.89 days. Some containers are dwelling for up to 12.74 days.
 
Vessel schedules and port congestion has already been affected as a consequence of ongoing strike action in Europe, which will continue to have a ripple effect on container flows and carrier performance around the world for some time. Data from supply chain tech company Project44 found dockworker strikes in Germany caused container dwell times to climb. Bremerhaven saw a peak of 9.1 days on July 17, up 112% from July 11's dwell time of 4.3 days.

Robert Keen, general director at the British International Freight Association, said: “Any disruption to operations at Europe's container ports, for whatever reason (industrial action; congestion; lack of dockers; or poorly implemented IT systems) will cause problems for companies that manage international supply chains. 

“The potential impact of the strikes will depend on how long they last and whether they result in shipping lines cancelling calls at the ports concerned, or transferring those calls to other ports.”

U-Freight will work with our customers – especially retail businesses that are busy preparing for upcoming sales and holiday season – to best overcome any disruption caused by the strikes, including the use of alternate modes, or routings.

You can find more information about the U-Freight Group’s ocean freight services on our website or by speaking to your usual contact in our company.