The effects of the US West Coast port strikes are now being felt at the Ports of Auckland as an influx of vessels and containers has seen waiting times increase substantially according to one freight forwarder.
On it’s website Mainfreight posted a release to its customers on February 24 claiming that there were delays of up to 4 hours per container, and delivery of the full container to the customer are late to lack of available time slots at the port.
Mainfreight also warned its clients that the shipping lines are still charging detention as per their standard timeframes.
“To avoid any additional detention charges we advise you to unpack your container within 24 hours of receiving it,” says Mainfreight.
Ports of Auckland Limited spokesperson Matt Ball told DIESELtalk that he disputes the length of waiting time claimed by the freight forwarder, but agrees that there have been delays and congestion on the port caused by a influx of freight from the US, as well as delayed arrivals caused by the Chinese new year, and some issues with ports in Australia.
But there has been a positive development thanks to the settlement of the bitter three year dispute with union workers.
Ball says that thanks to the recent resolution of the dispute with the Maritime Union, Ports of Auckland now has a little more flexibility and there is more availability of time slots on the weekend for containers to be uplifted.
“It’s been a challenging period for the Port but we are putting as many resources in place as possible to clear the backlog and get on top of the issue,” says Ball.
