Operational disruptions at the port of Hamburg cause backlogs

Sea freight: update on the global situation

Due to the ongoing disruption of the sea freight market, the after-effects (container shortages and frequent port congestion) continue to impact global supply chains. Below, we provide an update on all developments to minimize potential disruptions to your business.

US West Coast / San Pedro Bay / Port of Los Angeles

• The situation in the US has improved over the last 6 weeks, but there are still several container ships queuing in San Pedro Bay to enter the port to be unloaded.
• The impact can still be seen in the sea freight inland logistics chain. The constant and high volume of loaded containers flowing into the U.S. continues to make it difficult to relieve the existing backlog.

Suez Canal

• Although this incident occurred more than 10 weeks ago, sea freight traffic is still out of balance due to the so-called "ripple effects."
• After the unblocking of the Suez Canal, European ports were first congested due to the sudden and high inbound volume. This was followed by the Asian ports, especially the Chinese ports.

Ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven / Rotterdam

• Due to the blockade of the Suez Canal and the aforementioned "ripple effects", operations at the ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven were also out of balance.
• Due to this congestion, shipping companies were induced to re-route ships to Wil-helmshaven or to Rotterdam.
• Within the Rotterdam operation, delays are now also expected, possibly leading to disruptions in port operations.

Ports of Yantian / Shekou / Nansha

• Delays are occurring in the South China region (Yantian / Shekou / Nansha, etc.) due to restricted port operations. It is expected that the resumption of regular operations will have to be done gradually and that full capacity cannot be reached in the foreseeable future.

We are in close contact with carriers and service providers on a daily basis and do our best to make your supply chain as smooth as possible. For individual advice, please contact your local representative of DACHSER so that we can implement the best logistics solution for you.

Statement by Dachser CEO Burkhard Eling on the military conflict in Ukraine

Peace and the free movement of goods are fundamental prerequisites for the positive, free development of all societies. In this spirit, Dachser has grown as an international logistics provider over the past decades. We therefore deeply regret the escalation of the military conflict in Ukraine. Among other things, the conflict will also have a substantial impact on supply chains in Eastern Europe. 

Our first priority is the safety of all drivers transporting consignments on behalf of Dachser. We have therefore today imposed an immediate takeover and loading stop for all shipments to Ukraine. This applies to all European transports of our Cargoplus service segment, which specializes in FTL and LTL transports to the CIS countries, among others, as well as to all transports from the European Logistics network that are handled in Ukraine by our partner ACE. Regular traffic from our platform Strykow (Poland) to Kiev will be discontinued. All trucks that are currently still on their way to Ukraine have to be returned in coordination with the customers. We are in close contact with our Ukrainian partner, who has also closed his warehouses.

In air freight, the airspace over Ukraine has been closed in a wide radius. Take-offs and landings are not possible here, so that congestion at the alternative airports is to be feared. 

Our European Logistics and Air & Sea Logistics teams are closely monitoring developments in the situation and are in close contact with our customers. This also applies in particular to restrictions on the movement of goods that may arise in the coming days as a result of the sanctions announced against Russia.

  Dachser's activities in Ukraine and Russia.

Dachser does not have its own locations in Ukraine, but works there with its partner ACE Logistics. The Estonian company is also Dachser's partner for the Baltic states and joint venture partner in Finland. The Cargoplus service segment handles additional full truckload services.

In Russia, Dachser has been represented by its own national company since 2008 and provides services in the Road Logistics and Air & Sea Logistics business segments. Around 160 staff are employed at seven locations. In 2020, Dachser Russia handled around 17,000 consignments and generated revenue of EUR 21.6 million.

“A high degree of stability and reliability”

Even if concrete forecasts are currently difficult, there is cause for cautious optimism. CEO Burkhard Eling on initial trends and an outlook for 2021.

Latest update on DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics operations

With this update DACHSER would like to inform about the current DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics operations across the regions APAC, EMEA and Americas. In the attached document (see download below) it is listed whether a country organization of DACHSER is operational or, if only limited or not at all, why this is the case. Since the situation in the countries may change rapidly, the attached document will be updated on a regular basis and published on our website.

We sincerely regret any inconveniences caused to our customers due to the pandemic. At DACHSER, we have contingency measures in place and will offer our customers the best alternative solutions to keep the supply chain running. Anyhow, the situation at ports, airports or customs authorities might cause delays. Furthermore, the capacity situation on the global airfreight market is very tense as there are basically no passenger flights operating at the moment.

At the same time, DACHSER has installed strict hygiene measures (e.g. home office) to ensure a safe working environment and to do our part in stopping the spread of the virus. DACHSER is trying to keep the impact of these measures as low as possible, however, together with the official measures by the governments, the precautions may lead to some delays in the operations.

In case of any questions and/or queries, please feel free to contact your local DACHSER representative.