The BBC carried a report last week of delays at Felixstowe Container Terminal. Following discussion with a BFFF member, with expertise in the container market, it would appear that the core issue relates to labour relations at the port due to earlier furloughing of staff. This has resulted in a significant reduction in productivity with the number of containers handled per hour dropping by 40%.
There is also an issue with a large volume of containers still in the port with PPE, creating issues around the flow of containers.
We were also advised that capacity has been taken out of the container market, which is pushing up rates for containers, which is being reflected in higher costs for containers.