High container volumes and Covid continue to impact on the Port of Felixstowe, with high volumes expected to last "well into the first quarter".
In an update this week, the Felixstowe port operator said it was working hard to minimise impact on daily operations and to maintain supply chains. Excess volumes of PPE have reportedly been removed and are "no longer an issue". Container terminals are now open for longer and 140 new employees have been recruited to boost resource.
The availability of empty containers has significantly hampered the global supply chain, for fasteners, tools and ironmongery and across many other sectors. Felixstowe said that each shipping line has an agreed empty storage capacity, with the receipt of empty containers managed on a line-by-line basis. If a line exceeds its empty storage capacity, receipt of empty containers for that line are temporarily suspended until sufficient empties are removed.
Private onsite testing continues onsite for employees and household members to maximise labour availability.
Further updates included:
- The port is fully operational. In the week to 10.01.2021, it handled 70,586 TEU across the quay, 20,301 TEU to/from rail, and 40,700 containers to/from road vehicles
- 95% of import containers are available for collection within 10 minutes of discharge from the vessel
- In the week to 11.01.2021, there were 4,558 VBS slots available every weekday
- In the week to 11.01.2021, a total of 26,331 VBS bookings were available of which 7,867 went unused (4,169 at Trinity, 3,698 at Berths 8&9). More information is available here
- In the week to 11.01.2021, the average turnaround times for hauliers were 43.30 minutes at Trinity Terminal and 36.68 minutes at Berths 8&9.
