The surge in cargo volume has caused widespread congestion at Jeddah Port

Recently, Jeddah Islamic Port, the core hub of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea, has experienced a large-scale impact on cargo volume. Port congestion continues to worsen, with ships waiting for berthing, yard explosions, and severe backlog of inland trailers. Several leading shipping companies have successively introduced measures such as booking restrictions, port hopping, and congestion surcharges, causing significant supply chain disruptions to domestic foreign trade enterprises exporting to the Middle East and Gulf regions. As a key gateway from the Red Sea to Gulf countries, the current logistics crisis at Jeddah Port deserves high attention from shippers and foreign trade practitioners.

The current congestion at Jeddah Port is a "logistics storm" formed by the superposition of multiple factors. Affected by the geopolitical situation, a large number of goods that originally entered the Gulf countries through the Strait of Hormuz chose to bypass the Red Sea, land at Jeddah Port, and then be transported to Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain via the Saudi land bridge. In a short period of time, a large number of transit goods flooded into the port area, far exceeding the original designed throughput capacity of the port. Combined with the local import peak season in Saudi Arabia, the dual cargo volume pressure directly penetrates the upper limit of terminal operations. As of now, the utilization rate of the Jeddah Port yard has risen to 90%, and the efficiency of port loading and unloading operations has decreased by 20% -25%. Container trucks waiting to enter the port at the periphery of the port can queue for up to 5 kilometers, and some truck drivers need to wait in line for 3 days to complete the container pickup operation.

The internal links of the port are also under comprehensive pressure. The waiting time for ships to berth has significantly increased, and some ships have extended their waiting period to several weeks; After the container is unloaded from the ship, due to the tight storage at the port and the pressure on the local Fasah customs clearance system, it takes 68 weeks from the arrival of the goods at the port to the completion of container loading and release, far exceeding the usual time limit. The significant increase in demurrage and container detention time can easily result in high demurrage and storage fees, further raising the export costs of enterprises.

Faced with an out of control port operating environment, major shipping companies have intensively adjusted their operational policies. Hapag Lloyd announced the suspension of cross-border trailer services via Jeddah Port to the northern Gulf, with the resumption time to be determined; Transit containers that are not local destination ports in Saudi Arabia will no longer be unloaded from Jeddah and will be directly diverted to other ports. Only local Saudi goods are allowed to be unloaded at Jeddah port. Maersk will relocate some of its transit goods to the ports of Sierra Leone and Khorfakan for transshipment; MSC has started imposing congestion surcharges at Jeddah Port, at a rate of $500 per TEU; Some flights have experienced port hopping, cancellations, and delays, resulting in a significant decrease in route stability. Industry institutions predict that the congestion situation at Jeddah Port will be difficult to quickly alleviate in the short term, and it may take several months for the logistics order in the Gulf region to return to normal.

For domestic export enterprises, congestion at Jeddah Port brings multidimensional risks: unstable shipping schedules and uncontrollable delivery cycles; Transit goods face risks of port changes and returns; Additional storage fees and congestion surcharges increase the overall logistics costs; Time sensitive goods have the risk of delivery breach and cargo damage.

Here are a few suggestions for customers exporting to the Middle East market:

Firstly, fully evaluate the delivery time before shipment. If choosing Jeddah Port, it is necessary to reserve a logistics buffer period of 68 weeks to avoid delayed delivery and reduce the risk of default.

Secondly, priority should be given to evaluating alternative options, and the Saudi direction may consider King Abdullah Port; Goods transiting through Gulf countries can choose transfer ports such as Khorfakan and Sierra Leone to replace the Jeddah land bridge route and avoid congestion risks at Jeddah Port.

Thirdly, during the booking stage, confirm the latest policies of the shipping company, verify whether congestion surcharges have been imposed, whether there is a risk of port hopping or diversion, and clarify the division of responsibilities for container detention and storage.

Fourthly, for high timeliness and high-value goods, a combination of sea and air freight options can be evaluated to reduce losses caused by supply chain delays; After the goods are shipped, closely track the ship's movements and port notifications, and promptly handle customs clearance and release related documents.

The Red Sea Middle East route has been in a high wave cycle recently, and geopolitical risks, port congestion, and changes in shipping company policies may occur at any time. Our company will continue to track the operation of Jeddah Port terminal, announcements from shipping companies, and freight rate dynamics, synchronize with the latest market changes in the first time, provide customers with reliable logistics solutions, and assist foreign trade enterprises in smoothly responding to current supply chain challenges.

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