Tuesday, 12 October 2021 13:55

Congestion, strike add to global shipping woes

Written by  Peter Burke
Hamburg Sud New Zealand head Simon Edwards says there are multiple factors in shipping delays caused by Covid-19. Hamburg Sud New Zealand head Simon Edwards says there are multiple factors in shipping delays caused by Covid-19.

Congestion at the Ports of Auckland and strikes in Australia are adding to supply chain shipping problems around the world, which in turn are affecting the shipment of New Zealand primary products to world markets.

The NZ head for the giant shipping line Hamburg Sud - a major carrier of our primary exports - says there are multiple factors in shipping delays caused by Covid-19. Simon Edwards says there is also high demand for shipping in the uncertain times.

He says his company is fully committed to servicing the NZ market and in the past nine months has increased the number of its vessels calling at our ports, to alleviate some of the supply chain congestion.

"As well as investing in increasing our container pool, we have also invested in 'extra loaders' both to evacuate low-grade containers from Ports of Auckland and alleviate depot congestion, as well as positioning empty reefer and food grade quality containers into the country to support our agricultural exports," he says.

Edwards says Hamburg Sud will continue to focus on communication with their customers to keep them informed about the current supply chain situation, here in New Zealand and in the Asia Pacific Region. He says they have also changed the way they implement vessel contingency plans with increased lead time and a higher focus on structural contingencies to empower our customers and enable them to improve their supply chain planning and cargo flows.

He says it's hard to predict how long the disruptions will continue given the complexity of the global supply system.

"But based on the current market dynamics and continued impact from Covid-19, we expect the current situation to last well into 2022."

More like this

No Choice

OPINION: A nation that relies as heavily as NZ does on functional global shipping lanes will have to do its bit on the international security front, hence the additional $1.58b in military spend over 4 years that Dame Lynda Topp thought should have been spent on sheet music.

Featured

Federated Farmers Welcomes Pause on Waikato PC1 Rules

The Government has announced it will pause key parts of Waikato Plan Change 1 (PC1) in a decision that is set to give Waikato farmers a reprieve from new consenting and farm-planning requirements while the wider resource management system is overhauled.

CNH Tech Chief on Autonomous Machinery, AI in Farming

While GPS and guidance have become the norm and yield mapping and variable application continues to gain traction, most agricultural machinery manufacturers continue to expand their technology offerings, amalgamating the vast amounts of data being collected to streamline real-time and ongoing management decisions.

National

Machinery & Products

Suzuki Launches Jimny Horizon

Suzuki New Zealand has announced the arrival of the latest version of its Jimny SUV, the Horizon special edition, a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Domestic Focus

OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…

A No-Brainer

OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter