Uncertainty surrounding on-again, off-again tariffs by the United States on Chinese products has seen a growing shift in North American import volume to Southeast Asia, particularly to Cambodia and Vietnam.

In the first quarter of this year, cargo traffic through the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port in Cambodia rose 16 per cent, year-over-year.

In recent months, the port has been congested and terminal productivity has deteriorated due to this congestion, in both the port and yard. As a result, feeder services and turnaround times are being affected, and current feeder space is very tight.

In an effort for medium term improvement of this situation, Sihanoukville Port is building an extended yard for additional storage space. Before the new container yard is completed however, please be advised that port congestion may persist.

Meanwhile, severe container equipment shortages have been reported in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In addition, overall vessel capacity constraints have impacted export shipments, causing some delays and misconnections at the region’s transhipment points.

Delmar will continue to monitor the situation and process shipments as events allow. We highly recommend that customers arrange bookings at least two weeks prior to closing time, and that vendors are duly advised and prepared to coordinate shipments under the current conditions.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting your local Delmar Representative.

Sources: JoC; Phnom Penh Post; Hapag-Lloyd