Shanghai, Ningbo and Yantian remain heavily congested
August 8th, 2026
We would like to provide an update on the ongoing congestion affecting major Chinese container ports.
As of 8 September 2026, significant congestion remains at Shanghai, Ningbo and Yantian, with no meaningful reduction in overall waiting times or vessel backlogs at present.
Although port operations have resumed following the recent typhoon disruptions, terminals and shipping lines are still working through accumulated vessel backlogs, container volumes and schedule disruptions. The recovery is therefore taking considerably longer than initially expected.
Shanghai & Ningbo
Shanghai and Ningbo remain the most severely affected locations.
Recent industry data indicates that vessels at Shanghai and Ningbo can still face extended berthing delays of up to around 7–10 days, depending on the terminal, vessel and service. Earlier reports also showed approximately 135 vessels waiting at Shanghai and around 100 at Ningbo, highlighting the scale of the backlog.
The impact is being felt across the wider supply chain, including:
- Longer vessel waiting and berthing times
- Vessel bunching and schedule disruption
- Delayed container loading and discharge
- Cargo rollovers and changes to planned sailings
- Port omissions and revised vessel rotations
- Longer transit times
- Equipment imbalances and container availability issues
- Increased pressure on trucking and terminal gates
Shanghai’s schedule reliability has also been particularly poor. Sea-Intelligence reported that only 21% of vessels arrived on time in Shanghai during July, while Ningbo recorded just 34.6%
Yantian / South China
Yantian is also experiencing ongoing congestion, although the situation is currently less severe than at Shanghai and Ningbo.
Recent data indicates average waiting times of approximately 2.5–5 days, depending on the source and operating conditions. Yantian’s vessel schedule reliability also deteriorated significantly, falling to 48.3% in July.
This means shipments through Yantian should also be expected to experience schedule uncertainty, particularly where vessels are already operating behind schedule from previous port calls.
What this means for your shipments
At present, the main concern is not a complete port closure, but the continued backlog and lack of recovery capacity.
Shipping lines are working to restore schedules, but the combination of previous typhoon disruptions, vessel bunching, high export volumes and limited berth availability means that delays can continue to move through the network.
Customers with cargo scheduled from Shanghai, Ningbo or Yantian should therefore allow additional time for:
Vessel departure: possible delays and rollovers
Port/terminal handling: longer than normal processing times
Transit times: subject to further schedule changes
Container availability: may vary by carrier and equipment type
ETA: arrival dates may continue to change
The latest industry assessments indicate that congestion is likely to remain elevated in the near term, particularly as China enters the busy September–October export period.
Our recommendation
For shipments already booked, we recommend allowing additional contingency in the sailing schedule and avoiding tight connections where possible.
For urgent cargo, we recommend reviewing the latest vessel schedule before committing to delivery dates, as published ETDs and ETAs may change at short notice.
We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as conditions improve or if there are any additional weather-related disruptions.
We appreciate your patience and understanding while the shipping network works through the current backlog.