As the chain effects of port strikes in the eastern United States and Gulf of Mexico in early October become apparent, shippers on South and North trade routes are facing shipping disruptions and congestion at major ports on the East Coast of South America. Delays in port shipments in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay were caused by disruptions to ship schedules from the United States following a strike by the International Dockworkers Association of America (ILA) from October 1 to 3, compounded further confusion by a strike by dock workers in Brazil.
Maskey noted in the announcement that some ports in South America were waiting up to a week; Brazil's Santos, Itapoa, Grande River, Argentina's Port Blanca and Uruguay's Montevideo ports all experienced delays of 1 to 3 days. In addition, Portuário Pier in Santos, Brazil, as well as Paranagua, face delays of 4 to 7 days. CONGESTION ON THE EAST COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA IS PARTICULARLY MARKED, ACCORDING TO AIS TRACKING OF CONTAINER SHIPS, WITH FOUR VESSELS CURRENTLY WAITING OUTSIDE THE PORT OF SANTOS AND EXPECTED TO ARRIVE ON OCTOBER 24.
Vespucci Maritime CEO and Business Journal analyst Lars Jensen said boat delays at South American ports could last three to four weeks after the ILA strike ends. A Brazilian shipping agent pointed out that the docks in the southern region of the country are the biggest challenges it faces. Some docks are overloaded, making it difficult to open the windows for container shipments, and the Port of Santos was once used as a haven, but now the situation is also starting to get more difficult. At the same time, Brazil itself is facing labor problems, with about 60,000 local port workers planning a 12-hour strike this Tuesday to protest legislative reforms against the labor rights of port workers. About 20,000 workers took part in the strike in the Port of Santos alone, according to the Sao Paulo Gazette.
Some reports fear the strike will further intensify an already deadlocked market and worsen congestion problems. In this case, export rates from the East Coast of South America to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico continued to rise, and according to data from Platts, a sister company of Standard Poole Global Business Journal, as of October 22, immediate freight from the East Coast of South America reached $5,800 per FEU, an increase of more than 255,800 dollars compared to October 2023 0%。 At the same time, immediate export shipping from the Gulf of Mexico to the East Coast of South America is $975 per FEU.
