In Quick we tell you about it.
The shortage and high cost of container rentals has put international trade "in check".
In view of the imminent global trade reactivation, the shortage of containers and the high prices for transporting goods are among the main reasons why inflation rates are on the rise.
"The container situation is bad because the evolution of global trade is good." Alessandro Nicita, economist at the UN trade agency (Unctad) (Taken from: Portfolio - Global trade, in 'check' due to shortage and high cost of containers).
A priori, one might think that this is a positive statement in the face of the economic crisis that COVID-19 has left behind, however, the lack of inputs, raw materials and hundreds of other components of the different industries show that this has not been the case.
Border closures, curfews, quarantines and other sanitary measures that have been implemented in the midst of the pandemic have disrupted (global) value chains and (directly) affected container logistics cycles.
A (silent) problem that has been going on since 2020 and has resulted in the consequences we are witnessing today.
The lack of containers and the non-compliance of itineraries has generated an accelerated increase in transportation costs. To date, average freight rates for 20-foot units from China to Latin America are five times higher than the average of the last 12 years.
"Under this scenario, world trade is directly suffering the consequences. For example, as shown by the SFCI index, which is the most widely used indicator to measure maritime freight rates and analyzes the costs of routes with China for 20-foot containers, this has gone from just over 700 points at this time in 2019, to more than 4,500 points at the close of August, that is, a growth of almost 530%." (Taken from: Portfolio - Global trade, in 'check' due to shortage and high cost of containers).
Undoubtedly, this is a problem that directly affects companies specialized in logistics and international transportation, not to mention consumers, since they are the ones who will ultimately have to pay the value requested by the company to be contracted.
What is happening in Colombia?
Although it is an international situation, Colombia is not far from reality. According to Diego Mauricio Gaitan, manager of Desarrolladora de Zonas Francas, of the ZFB Group, for PortfolioPortafolio, "freight costs have gone up between 4 and 5 times". A container from China to Colombia that was contracted between US$1,500 and US$2,000 before the pandemic, today is US$13,000 to US$15,000 if you get availability in the shipping company, because they prioritize routes to the east and could begin to close routes to South America, or otherwise, you must wait in port paying storage.
Exports of staple products such as sugar and coffee have had to divert their shipments to ports on the Caribbean coast, generating additional cost overruns of between 30% and 70% due to container shortages and non-compliance with itineraries at the port of Buenaventura.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade has made a statement on this issue, assuring that "foreign trade operations in Colombia are developing normally. However, the global situation of shortage of containers and decrease in the frequency of travel of ships could at some point affect the flow of regular foreign trade that we have in the country".
Thus, it could be deduced that it has been a problem that has put international logistics in "check", exponentially raising transportation costs and the low availability of containers in the main ports around the world, generating unthinkable losses for the industry and therefore, for the business.
The optimization of time, costs and space within the logistics operation is a challenge that international transportation companies will have to face due to the complications that are currently arising, however, it is an issue that will be in constant change in the last quarter of the year, being the time of greatest commercial movement in the world.
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