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The global shipping industry once again scrambles to cope with rising demand, longer transits to avoid the Red Sea, and bad weather in Asia, leading to a sudden and surprise surge in shipping rates. 

In an official email to its customers, key Kuwaiti petrochemical producer- EQUATE said shipments from Kuwait to China Ports of Discharge (PODs) encounter significant delays in transit times. The bottleneck stems from acute congestion at transhipment hubs like Jebel Ali, Port Klang, and Singapore. Blank sailings of feeder and container ships to China PODs from Port Klang and Singapore worsen the situation, resulting in prolonged layovers of approximately 15 to 20 days for containers.

• Read: Malaysia’s Port Klang grapples with congestion as vessels queue up to nine hours to dock

The producer has issued revised transit times for shipments from Kuwait to China PODs based on advice from shipping companies while warning about further delays if the shipping conditions do not improve. 

The delays in import arrivals, compounded by port congestion and vessel issues, are heightening concerns over the availability of goods in local China. Market participants are weighing the possibility of a sustained uptrend in the local market given the lingering supply tightness.