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Container ship congestion in the North Sea worsens

The congestion of container ships in Europe was worsening as more than two percent of global cargo capacity were at a standstill in the North Sea and could not be loaded or unloaded, the German Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) said.

“An end to congestion in container shipping is currently not in sight,” said Vincent Stamer, head of Kiel trade indicator.

For Germany and the European Union (EU), this development “primarily affects overseas trade, especially with Asia, from where, for example, consumer electronics, furniture, or textiles are delivered,” Stamer added.

Despite these developments, Europe’s largest economy saw imports in May go up by 2.7 percent month-on-month, while exports decreased slightly by 0.5 percent, according to the latest figures by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

“German foreign trade continues to hold its own in the crisis, but the outlook is gloomy,” Dirk Jandura, president of the German Federation of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), said earlier this week.

Exports and imports in the European Union are forecasted to remain relatively stable in June, according to the IfW Kiel trade indicator.
Source: Xinhua

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