CARRIERS are having had the most profitable year ever and are on track for another while failing to deliver on time and enjoying full ships and and unheard of profits, says Lloyd's List.
But box shipping has done a remarkable job," continued the Lloyd's List commentary. "Last year, it transported nearly the same number of containers it had in 2019, despite all the disruption of the pandemic."
Of course, service is admittedly poor. "Booking equipment, finding a slot and expecting a delivery even close to when it was scheduled has become an exercise in futility - for which the shipper still must pay top dollar."
For some products the cost of ocean carriage has meant container shipping is no longer a viable option, as it would suck any profit out of the sale of the product.
For those that can still afford the cost, supply chain management has become a matter of guesswork and good luck. The days when one could order parts from China and have them delivered to a factory on a known day two months later are gone, throwing whole sectors into disarray.
But box lines are not responsible for congested port and terminals, shortages of rail, truck and warehouse capacity, the blockage of the Suez Canal or the outbreak of Covid-19 at Yantian," said the commentary,
"Shippers must bear some responsibility for this. The just-in-time supply chain permits cargo owners to avoid the cost of holding inventory, and they have chosen to invest in the cost of shipping rather than the cost of high inventories.
"A more resilient supply chain might not be in such desperate need for goods that it is prepared to pay over US$6,000 per TEU to ship a container from China," it said.
"Container lines rightly point out that for most of the past decade they did not make any money. The low-cost supply chain that shippers came to rely on was in fact a charitable donation from the container lines' shareholders.
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