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Supply Chain Glossary
Market Insights
Published: 
November 19, 2024

Container Port Congestion Statistics: May 2024

Port congestion is calculated as the sum of average vessel anchor and berth times during the specified time period. Download your free copy of our container port congestion report for all the data. 

Most Congested Ports in May 2024

  Port    Country    May Congestion 
  Zhoushan   China    8.7 days
  Durban   South Africa   6.9 days 
  Jebel Ali   United Arab Emirates    3.8 days 
  Vancouver    Canada   3.6 days 
  Chittagong    Bangladesh   3.6 days 

Zhoushan reverses a trend of improvement over H1 2024 with a major jump in congestion from an average of 4.6 days in April to 8.7 days in May. Despite remaining heavily congested, Durban saw some improvement month over month, reducing average congestion by 10 hours. Jebel Ali moves up to third from seventh last month in our port congestion index following an increase in combined anchor and berth times of 21 hours. Congestion levels in Vancouver and Chittagong remain relatively unchanged. 

Ports Experiencing Reduced Congestion in May 2024

  Port    Country    April Congestion    May Congestion   Change
  St. Petersburg   Russia    2.6 days   1.8 days   -0.8 days
  Balboa   Panama   2.2 days    1.5 days   -0.7 days
  Gioia Tauro   Italy   1.9 days    1.4 days    -0.5 days
  Tanjung Priok    Indonesia   1.7 days    1.2 days   -0.5 days
  Savannah    United States   2.4 days    1.9 days   -0.5 days

Congestion relief in St. Petersburg, Balboa and Gioia Tauro was attributable to a combination of reduced anchor and berth times. While Tanjung Priok and Savannah also reported congestion relief, this was driven solely by a reduction in anchor times, with both ports cutting 12 hours of anchor time while berth times increased slightly. 

Ports Facing Worsening Congestion in May 2024

  Port    Country    April Congestion    May Congestion   Change
  Zhoushan   China    4.6 days   8.7 days   +4.1 days
  Charleston   United States   1.3 days    3.3 days   +2.0 days
  Jebel Ali   United Arab Emirates   3.0 days    3.8 days    +0.8 days
  Lomé    Togo   2.1 days    2.9 days   +0.8 days
  Manila    Philippines   2.4 days    2.9 days   +0.5 days

Despite reporting reduced average anchor time, congestion at Zhoushan ballooned due to an almost doubling of the average berth time. Increased congestion levels in Charleston, Jebel Ali, Lomé and Manila were almost entirely attributable to growing anchor times.