Further to our LinkedIn updates in recent months, levels of port congestion at Felixstowe and Southampton have reached new heights.

Moving into the peak arrival season with higher volumes moving through the ports, hauliers are at capacity and it is advisable to book haulage as early as possible to avoid delays upon arrival at port.

What began as an issue at Felixstowe has now spread after Southampton took on more traffic that was being diverted from the already struggling Suffolk port. However the issues with haulage availability are also present at Southampton, leading to long delays in the ability to move cargo on once it has reached the port.

Recent bad weather has also played a part by adversely affecting the schedules, leading to a further backlog and queues.

It appears that the technical issues that began at Felixstowe in June with the implementation of a new system are still ongoing and as a result some carriers are opting to divert their ships to different ports, or move goods to the UK via feeder vessels in order to try and avoid delays.

Our advice to importers is to ensure that your freight forwarder/agent books haulage as close as possible to the initial booking/sailing of your shipment to offer the best chance of an acceptable delivery timescale.

We provide regular brief updates on LinkedIn as we receive them from the ports and other industry contacts and are happy to offer advice on the best way to minimise disruption to your shipments.