Global Port Congestion: 68% of Major Ports See Anchor Times Increase in 2024

With the Red Sea crisis, port strikes, a series of extreme weather events and even a container explosion in Ningbo causing havoc for supply chain operators, port congestion was a hot topic in 2024.

Global interest in the topic spiked in June, reaching a level of interest not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But just how bad of a year was it in terms of port congestion? 

Of 88 analyzed ports, 60 (68%) recorded longer average vessel anchor times in 2024 compared to 2023. The increases were, however, for the most part minor with 34 of these 60 ports recording increases of less than two hours. 30% of ports saw increases of more than 2 hours and a modest 15% recorded reductions in congestion of more than two hours. 

Distribution of ports by change in average anchor times (2024 vs. 2023)

Which Ports Recorded the Biggest Changes in Port Congestion?

The most significant increases were observed in Durban (+1.26 days), Santos (+0.85), Charleston (+0.72), Vancouver (+0.68), and Manila (+0.65), with no other ports recording an increase exceeding 10 hours.

Ports with largest increases in average anchor times (2024 vs. 2023)

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Among improved ports, Mersin (Turkey) led the way, reducing anchor times by more than two days. Gdansk (Poland) also reported a half day reduction, but no other port saw a decrease of more than 10 hours

Ports with largest decrease in average anchor times (2024 vs. 2023)

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Regional Port Congestion Trends

The effects of disruption were not uniformly felt across regions. While European, SE Asian an North American ports saw year-on-year increases ranging from 28-35%, East Asia and the Middle East saw improvement over 2023 levels.

Average anchor times by region (2024 vs. 2023)

North America

North American ports continue to rank among the world’s most congested. The average anchor time across ports in the region was 0.6 days (14 hours), an increase of approximately four hours compared to 2023. 

Of 11 analyzed North American ports, nine saw increases in average anchor times with Charleston (+0.7 days), Vancouver (+0.7) and Norfolk (+0.3) all seeing average wait times increase by more than 5 hours. Houston (-0.1 days) and Savannah (-0.3) were the only two major North America ports to record improved congestion levels in 2024. 

Europe

Average vessel waiting times across the 17 analyzed European ports was 0.23 days, less than half as long as North American ports. 

Of these ports, 13 saw increases, with Marsaxlokk (+0.4 days) and Valencia (+0.2) recording the largest increases. Rotterdam saw wait times nearly double, although the port remained below the regional average at 0.21 days. At Europe’s other mega hub in Antwerp, congestion levels increased by less than an hour. Le Havre (-0.1 days) and Gdansk (-0.5) were the only major European ports to record reductions in vessel waiting times of more than two hours. 

Asia

East Asia continues to showcase the class of its port infrastructure with average anchor times across the region falling to 0.12 days or less than 3 hours. This improvement was recorded despite average anchor times more than doubling in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. 

Southeast Asia saw average wait times increase 30% to 8.4 hours across 10 analyzed ports. This was largely influenced by the worsening conditions in Manila. Despite nearly doubling average anchor times in Singapore, the port ranked 52nd on our list of most congested ports in 2024. 

Congestion Changes by Port

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