Kuehne+Nagel launches sea freight disruption indicator

January 20, 2022: Kuehne+Nagel is launching the Seaexplorer disruption indicator to measure the efficiency of the world container shipping networks. The indicator shows the cumulative TEU waiting time in days in the ports of Prince Rupert, Vancouver/Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York, Savannah, Hong Kong, Shanghai/Ningbo as well as Rotterdam/Antwerp.

An example demonstrates how the indicator is determined: one vessel with 10,000 T capacity waiting 12 days to enter a port equals 120,000 TEU waiting days. In addition, another vessel with 5,000 TEU waiting 10 days to enter the same port equals 50,000 TEU waiting days. The total TEU waiting time is 170,000 TEU waiting days.

The disruption indicator provides insights as well as advanced analytics and trends on the current situation impacting global trade. Currently, the indicator reflects a waiting time and scale of 11.6 million TEU days – a persistently high level. In these nine specific ports, normal would be less than one million TEU waiting days. At present, roughly 80% of the disruption is associated with North American ports.

The indicator is an extension of the visibility that Kuehne+Nagel’s acclaimed Seaexplorer provides on global sea freight disruptions. According to the latest Seaexplorer data, 612 container vessels are currently at anchor or drifting in front of major global ports.

Otto Schacht, member of the management board, Kuehne + Nagel International AG, responsible for Sea Logistics, says: "The trendline information provided by the indicator enhances the ability of our customers to predict and plan for likely future impacts on their supply chain and identify the best course of action. With the indicator, we have implemented a new level of data analytics for sea logistics."

Going forward, the disruption indicator will be made available exclusively for registered users of www.seaexplorer.com.