Affected by the epidemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, supply chain service disruptions are spreading around the world. U.S. east coast ports have been hit by west coast overflows, while European ports are handling Russian transshipment cargo, causing shipping companies to interrupt Atlantic shipping services.
Congestion on the U.S. East Coast was caused by “spill” cargo from California, slowing shipments from Europe to the U.S.
Major Nordic ports are seeing a build-up of Russian transshipment cargo from Asia, which now has nowhere to go since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war and a series of sanctions.
The disruption has led to a shortage of empty containers in Europe, which means less equipment is available for U.S. exports and shipping companies are unable to fill ships.
After Russia was sanctioned, bills of lading to Russia were carefully inspected, as were shipments containing raw materials and any shipments that could be integrated for military use, delaying shipments.
The port of Rotterdam said: “10% of container traffic in Rotterdam is connected to Russia, and the EU has banned the export of some goods that can be used for civilian and military purposes. This means that container goods destined for Russia will be subject to additional customs inspections”