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DHL Global Forwarding’s Week 44 (October 26 to November 1) update lists waiting times of 2 to 3 days at both Manila North and Manila South, with 4 and 6 vessels waiting as of Oct. 28
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Typhoon closures, vessel bunching and crowded yards continue to disrupt major ports across China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia
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A forwarding executive advised customers to book LCL shipments early and build in extra buffer time
Vessels are waiting two to three days to berth at both Manila terminals, according to DHL Global Forwarding’s intra-Asia port situation update for Week 44 (October 26 to November 1) of 2026.
At Manila North Harbor (Manila International Container Terminal), four vessels were waiting as of Oct. 28 and yard density was 80% to 85%. At Manila South Harbor, six vessels were waiting.
The update was shared on LinkedIn by Andreas Merikzon, head of LCL (less-than-container-load) for DHL Global Forwarding Indonesia. He said the outlook across major Asia-Pacific gateways “remains challenging” because of port congestion, vessel bunching, capacity constraints and weaker schedule reliability.
READ: Manila port congestion may take months to clear: BOC
Other Asian ports
- China: The update lists a typhoon closure of 28 hours at Fuzhou on Oct. 23 to 24 and one of 30 hours at Ningbo on Oct. 24 to 25. Ningbo vessels wait up to 3 to 4 days, with 20 waiting as of Oct. 29, and improvement is expected from Week 46. At Shanghai, waits run 2 to 3 days, with 69 vessels waiting at Waigaoqiao and 14 at Yangshan. Yantian waits 1 to 1.5 days, expected to normalize in Week 45.
- Japan: Typhoon Champi closed a port for 120 hours from Oct. 21 to 26 and another for 63 hours from Oct. 23 to 26. Yard density is high at Tokyo (97% at one terminal) and Yokohama (93%).
- South Korea: The yard at Busan’s BNCT terminal has been above 90% since October, with waits of 1.5 to 2 days. Heavy discharge vessels may be deprioritized.
- Malaysia: Port Klang waits average two days, with 15 vessels at anchorage as of Oct. 29, and heavy congestion is expected in Week 45.
- Vietnam and Thailand: Vung Tau waits 1.5 days, with off-window vessels delayed up to 4 days. Laem Chabang berth conditions worsened on vessel bunching.
- Taiwan: Kaohsiung reports heavy yard congestion at one terminal.
What shippers should expect
Merikzon said LCL sailing schedules remain subject to delay and operational changes. He added that cargo rollovers and port omissions may occur as congestion persists, and that fully booked sailings can affect booking acceptance and planned departures. Longer waiting and connection times may extend overall transit times.
He encouraged customers and supply-chain teams to place LCL bookings as early as possible and build in extra buffer time.
