Foreign trade agencies begin to feel the effects of the rising cost of freight from shipping companies. The crisis may escalate at the end of the year and it is estimated that it will last until the first quarter of 2022.
Progreso, Yucatán, (October 25, 2021).- The container crisis that is registered in all the commercial ports of the world is already impacting Progreso with the delay in the arrival of imported merchandise, which could lead to an increase in prices at the end of the year.
The problem that foreign trade agencies are beginning to face is the increased cost of freight for shipping companies to move their products to ports, mainly on the European and Asian continents.
The problem started in Asia, where the volume of transactions has exceeded the cargo capacity of shipping companies. The cost of moving a container has increased 500 percent, from $ 4,000 (on average) to $ 20,000.
This situation began to increase the price of imported products that enter through Progreso, especially those related to health, such as industrial masks and other medical supplies. Consulted specialists believe that it could soon reach other products.
In an interview, the director of Latin Asia Link, the entity’s foreign trade and logistics company, Jorge Mario Vargas Berzunza, recalled that since March 2020 the world was forced to be confined by the spread of Covid-19, making for the world economy to take a breather.
This resulted in the reduction of port workers, the closure of logistics agencies, the decrease in ships in shipping companies, and a shortage of containers.
“The problem has been evolving like a snowball and today it affects the entire world shipping logistics sector, since the closure of companies causes a reduction in the supply of logistics services, and Yucatan, due to globality, does not escape,” he said.
The specialist in foreign trade and customs, detailed that the price of freight increased by up to 500 percent, and exemplified that freight from China to Progreso, Yucatán or Manzanillo, Colima, México, two years ago cost two thousand dollars and currently costs up to 15 thousand dollars.
Movement
The Integral Port Administration of Progreso (API) reported that the port movement of containers in 2019 was 153 thousand 319, in 2020, due to the effects of the pandemic, 148 thousand 911 were registered, and until October there is a record of 117 thousand 612.
Source: Sipse
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