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Major ports in Asia have been experiencing congestion, driving significant delays for global container vessels, according to Sea-Intelligence
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Global container vessel schedule reliability dropped to 56.4% in July 2026, a decline of 6.1 percentage points month on month, the sharpest single‑month decline since January 2021
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The average delay for late vessel arrivals climbed to 6.06 days
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14 of the busiest ports in Asia recorded a decrease in on‑time vessel arrivals
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In Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, schedule reliability fell 19.2 pp m/m with just 21% of container vessels arriving at the port on time
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Singapore had reliability of 43.2% after a ‑5.7 pp m/m
Major ports in Asia, the leading exports region, have been experiencing congestion, driving significant delays for global container vessels, according to Sea-Intelligence.
Globally, container vessel schedule reliability dropped to 56.4% in July 2026, a decline of 6.1 percentage points (pp) month on month (m/m), the sharpest single‑month decline since January 2021.
Concurrently, the average delay for late vessel arrivals climbed to 6.06 days, an increase of 0.59 days m/m., based on data by the global supply chain industry research and advisory firm.
“This pronounced drop was driven primarily by congestion across major Asian ports,” said Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy.
The firm’s Asia Schedule Reliability data for July 2026 show that the 14 busiest ports in Asia recorded a decrease in on‑time vessel arrivals.
In Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, schedule reliability fell 19.2 pp m/m with just 21% of container vessels arriving at the port on time in July.
“The situation in Shanghai is particularly alarming. Following a steep decline of ‑19.2 pp, Outside of extreme pandemic‑era supply chain disruptions, schedule reliability in Shanghai has never dropped this low in 14 years of recorded data,” Murphy said.
READ: Shanghai port still busiest in H1 2026 – Alphaliner list
The Yantian port in Shenzhen had the highest drop at 23.5 pp, down to just 48.3%.
Hong Kong also dropped by 20.4 pp to 51.6%, while Ningbo-Zhoushan, the world’s second busiest port, saw reliability fall by 20.1 pp to 34.6%.
The top two ports – Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan – have been affected by several typhoons this year.
Other China ports that saw double-digit percentage point drops were: Shekou, 17.8 pp; Nansha 12.2 pp; and Xiamen, 17.6 pp.
Taiwan’s Kaosiung Port saw a 14.2 pp decrease, with schedule reliability at 54.2%.
Other top ports in Asia had single-digit drops. Singapore had reliability of just 43.2% after a ‑5.7 pp m/m. Port Klang (also referred to as Kelang) had just a 33.3% reliability, while Busan fell to 40.9%.
“With the region’s busiest ports operating with more than half of their incoming vessels delayed, this backlog will naturally cascade through the maritime network, likely triggering a new wave of delays for critical head‑haul trade lanes in the coming months,” Murphy said.
READ: Global port congestion is worsening, but not for lack of investments – Drewry
