Xi Jinping’s meeting with Donald Trump in South Korea later this week cannot come soon enough to smooth troubled commodity supply chains with vessels backing up off China on a scale not seen for years.
Queue times for commodity vessels off Chinese ports have reached highs not seen since the second quarter of 2022, according to data from Sea, a maritime analytics company.
Analysts at MB Shipbrokers suggest this congestion is down to new Chinese fees on US-linked vessels and trade tensions more broadly. Over the past two weeks, Beijing and Washington have enacted higher port fees against American and Chinese tonnage, something that came about as Trump, the American president, seeks to rein in China’s maritime dominance.
The queues at Chinese ports are most pronounced for tankers and bulkers, according to analysis from Sea, with containerships not impacted, with the spike in waiting times very much in line with the October 14 implementation of the new port fees.
“There is no material change in container vessels waiting at Chinese anchorages,” Hua Joo Tan, co-founder of container consultancy Linerlytica, told Splash.
The US and China have reached agreement on the framework of a potential trade deal that will be finalised when their leaders meet later this week, according to the US treasury secretary.
Scott Bessent told CBS that the framework includes a “final deal” over TikTok’s American operations and a suspension of China’s planned restrictions on rare earth mineral exports.
Bessent added he did not expect Trump’s proposed 100% tariff on Chinese goods to take effect, while in a big boost for panamax bulkers Beijing is set to resume large-scale purchases of US soybeans.
Trump and Chinese president Xi are scheduled to meet on Thursday with the port fees also likely to be discussed.
