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Shipping tech firm predicts chaotic Christmas

[ May 18, 2022   //   ]

This year’s summer peak season cargo surge will be even more chaotic for global supply chains than the 2021 peak, according to a shipper survey by the Container xChange marketplace.

The ‘xChange Industry Pulse Survey’ found that 51% of respondents expect the 2022 iteration of the peak season to be worse than last year. Some 26% predicted this year’s peak season would be less chaotic than in 2021, while 22% expect the level of chaos to be the same. 

The peak container shipping season traditionally occurs in the third quarter of each year as retailers build up inventories ahead of the fourth quarter holiday and shopping season. Last year, cargo surges resulted in record container shipping freight rates, delivery delays, port congestion, and reliability of container shipping services.

Some58% of respondents reported that Covid lockdowns in China had made it “hard to produce/ship as much product as planned”, suggesting that cargo backlogs and unsatisfied demand are building as China’s zero-Covid strategy limits exports to Europe and the US.

Top challenges identified by respondents aside from China’s ongoing lockdowns were container availability, depots being full, inflation, the Russia/Ukraine crisis and rising prices.

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