Congestion at China’s largest container ports has disrupted vessel schedules and added to the pressure facing importers ahead of the country’s Golden Week holiday.
Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan experienced significant delays during early September following weather-related closures. The effects have spread through vessel rotations across Asia, reducing the time available for shipping networks to recover before China’s National Day holiday.
Carriers are also withdrawing capacity around Golden Week. The combination of delayed vessels, accumulated cargo and planned blank sailings could affect space availability and schedules into October.
Delays at Shanghai and Ningbo
Operational data reported by Kuehne+Nagel on 8 September showed a seven-day average vessel waiting time of 4.72 days at Shanghai and 3.58 days at Ningbo.
Conditions differed considerably between terminals. Waiting times exceeded nine days at Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao terminals WGQ2 and WGQ5, while delays of more than seven days were reported at Yangshan terminal YS12.
Ningbo was also experiencing pressure within its container yards, with utilisation at the Meishan International Container Terminal reported above 90%.
The delays followed a series of weather-related interruptions. According to the operational update, Typhoon Saudel caused Ningbo to suspend operations for a cumulative 78 hours. Shanghai’s Yangshan and Waigaoqiao terminals lost approximately 54 and 48 hours of operations, respectively.
Although operations resumed, the closures contributed to vessel bunching, cargo backlogs and increased pressure on terminal, barge and feeder operations.
These figures represent conditions reported on 8 September. Waiting times can change quickly as ports work through delayed vessel calls and further weather or operational disruption develops.
More Than Four Million TEU Affected by Global Congestion
Linerlytica estimated in its 8 September Market Pulse that more than four million TEU of containership capacity was being absorbed by congestion worldwide.
This did not mean that four million TEU was waiting at Chinese ports. Instead, the figure represented capacity affected by congestion across the global shipping network, with Shanghai and Ningbo among the ports contributing to the disruption.
Once a vessel falls behind schedule, the delay can follow it through the remainder of its rotation. This can affect later port calls, equipment positioning and connecting services, even after conditions at the original port begin to improve.
The effect was also visible in carrier schedule performance. Sea-Intelligence reported that global schedule reliability fell by 6.1 percentage points in July to 56.4%, its lowest level of 2026 at that point. Vessels arriving late were delayed by an average of 6.06 days.
Reliability declined across all 14 major Asian ports monitored. Only 21% of vessels arrived on schedule in Shanghai during July, while Ningbo recorded schedule reliability of 34.6%.
Limited Recovery Time Before Golden Week
China’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday runs from 25 to 27 September 2026, followed shortly afterwards by the National Day holiday from 1 to 7 October.
This leaves only three normal weekdays between the two holiday periods, limiting the time available for ports, carriers and logistics providers to work through existing backlogs.
Factories, suppliers and logistics providers commonly close or operate at reduced capacity during Golden Week. Shipping lines also normally cancel selected departures in response to the seasonal reduction in export demand.
This year, however, Linerlytica expects the existing cargo backlog to keep vessels heavily utilised through the holiday period, despite the anticipated fall in newly produced export cargo.
Blank Sailings Add to Capacity Pressure
Carriers have already announced capacity reductions around Golden Week.
MSC’s Golden Week programme includes several blank sailings on its Asia–Europe network. On Asia–North Europe services, the carrier plans to cancel Swan and Britannia sailings during week 40, followed by a Lion sailing in week 41. MSC has said it intends to provide alternative services as part of its contingency plans.
Maersk has also announced blank sailings on its Far East Asia–Europe network, citing forecast reductions in demand and a smaller workforce available to handle cargo during the holiday. These include departures scheduled from Qingdao on 28 September, Ningbo on 8 October and Shanghai on 10 October. Maersk has also said coverage plans and alternative routings will be put in place.
Drewry’s latest Cancelled Sailings Tracker, published on 18 September, forecasts 77 blank sailings across the major East–West trades between weeks 39 and 43. This is 11% of the 720 scheduled departures during that period.
Of the announced cancellations, 31% affect Asia–North Europe and Mediterranean services. The remaining cancellations are concentrated on the Transpacific eastbound and Transatlantic trades.
The combination of congestion and planned capacity reductions could result in:
- Limited space on some departures before and after Golden Week
- Cargo being rolled onto later sailings
- Short-notice changes to vessel schedules and port rotations
- Revised container cut-off and gate-in dates
- Delays to connecting feeder and barge services
- Schedule disruption continuing into October
Disruption Could Continue After the Holiday
The pressure is unlikely to disappear immediately when Golden Week ends on 7 October.
Some Asia–Europe blank sailings are scheduled for after the holiday, while vessels delayed during September may continue progressing through later port calls behind schedule. Cargo held back during factory closures will also begin moving towards ports once businesses reopen, potentially creating another period of concentrated demand.
For UK importers, the issue is therefore not simply the total number of vessels operating. The more immediate concern is whether suitable capacity is available from the required Chinese port at the right time.
Businesses with time-sensitive cargo should book as early as possible, remain flexible over carriers and departure dates, and allow for the possibility that original vessel schedules may change.
Beckchoice continues to monitor conditions at Chinese ports, carrier schedule changes and space availability. If you have cargo moving from China to the UK, contact our team to discuss upcoming departures and the options available.
References
- Trans.info – China’s port backlog could turn Golden Week into a shipping squeeze
- Kuehne+Nagel – China port congestion forces carrier schedule changes
- MSC – 2026 Golden Week sailing programme: Asia to Europe
- Maersk – Golden Week network changes: Far East Asia to Europe
- Chinese Government – China’s public holidays for 2026
- Drewry – Cancelled Sailings Tracker
Disclaimer: Port conditions, vessel waiting times, capacity forecasts and sailing schedules can change at short notice. This article is based on information available at the time of publication. Customers should confirm the latest position for individual shipments with their Beckchoice contact.