Container delays in New York harbour for months

December's storm and the severe weather conditions in North America have had an enormous impact on the shipping trade to New York and particularly for fruit and vegetables. Bart Charetier from Herwi/Alpimex explains, "It all began with the storm at the start of December and ships encountered huge delays and didn't arrive in time for our clients and the Christmas holidays. That was a real let down for our end of year sales. Then they had the extremely cold weather and the heavy snowfall in New York and surroundings and this meant everything took a lot longer than usual and this has been the case for three months now," he sighed.

Important market for chicory
"Container ships are now arriving three to four days later. Where unloading normally took one or two days it is now easily taking four to five. So you see, it is a bit chaotic and the problems are stacking up." Heremans exports chicory, in particular, to America. "America is one of the most important markets for chicory. Especially now in this time of crisis, the market is paying a reasonable price to growers in the market. Due to the fact that we are having to send less, the growers are having to pack differently, which is usually at a lower cost to them. Products that we are normally able to transfer within a week, need to be offloaded a lot quicker, or we have to just bin it. It is a very different and especially poor way of working."

Half the normal export volume
"We first thought it would be over pretty quickly, and even at the end of January, companies promised that everything would be ok, they assured us that the ships would be quickly back to a normal schedule but after complaints from shippers and carriers about the situation in NY we began to realise it was not getting better. We also had messages about containers with dry food, sitting at the quayside for three to four weeks. So five weeks ago we decided to try and control the situation by sending less volume over. I estimate that we have sent 30% less this period than one year ago. Demand is also not very good at the moment. The extreme weather conditions in the American east coast are not allowing for normal sales."

Still delays
He said that at first the delay was due to the weather conditions. "Ships couldn't unload as they should because of the cold and snow. As a result, at all the quays there are lots of containers standing which still need to be delivered. There is also a problem getting the available equipment to 'pick' up the container. Companies are now also delaying ships or diverting them because the sooner they are out of the harbour the lower the cost. They will only arrive if there is actually room at the quayside because then the ship can be effectively discharged within 24 hours and return. Our products go mostly to the Maher Terminal, but there has been a last minute diversion to another harbour and the reorganisation took a lot of time. Every week is a frustrating wait and puzzle."

Waiting containers
There are so many containers waiting at different quays. "Non perishables and dry foods wait the longest. Fortunately there is a priority for fruit and vegetables and there have not been any quality problems, but the organisation and communication between companies leaves a lot to be desired. Before we would have an accurate ETA (estimated time of arrival), more or less. Then it was one date, now it is two. With a schedule of 12 days, four days of delays already means one third of the time is lost. We are informed of delays incredibly late." Even the customers are becoming frustrated with the situation. "We have been unable to guarantee any regular deliveries since the end of December. You feel like you are losing grip, bit by bit. Most customers have been confronted with this situation in the havens themselves, and understand how bad the situation is. Everyone has been set free."

Solution?
According to Charetier, companies need to improve communication and cut through some of the current schedules. "If no solution is found soon, or if things are not better organised soon, problems are likely to development which are no longer able to be fixed. We are doing everything we can to avoid this, but we would like to get information correctly and in a timely fashion. When this doesn't happen, we have to gamble. At some point, the shipping companies are going to make a move and we can get everything organised. This is why we are also sending less product, everyone is afraid of the situation where 2 containers arrive at the same time, because this is certainly a possibility."

For more information:
Bart Charetier
Alpimex c/o Ruris
Phone : +32 16 659239
Mobile : +32 496 160156