Concerns over freight at the launch of the Southern Hemisphere campaigns

The logistical crisis ongoing since the start of the year is expected to get worse, according to the Reefer brief from Reefertrends. The issue of available capacity remains one of the main causes: the very high demand for transport of high added-value dry goods between China and the USA since the start of the year, probably linked to the online sales segment boom, is probably behind the shortage of containers of all kinds – including refrigerated ones! While disruptions caused by delays in Chinese ports have aggravated the crisis (stricter anti-Covid disinfection protocols), the recent bottleneck caused by the blockage of the Suez Canal only added to what was already a very tight situation, and will further delay the hard-hit flow plans.

To remedy this situation, the shipping lines are transporting empty containers to deliver them where they are needed. Yet this would seem to be insufficient to keep up with demand, especially in South Africa, which is expecting a record citruses season (2 million tonnes) (see https://www.fruitrop.com/en/Articles-by-subject/Review-and-Forecasts/2021/South-African-citruses-another-record-export-season-in-prospect%21)

While bulk reefers may be an alternative, their availability remains limited and their cost high.