Global port congestion ties up 5% of deep-sea capacity as canal and climate bite

Summary

Around 5% of global deep-sea container capacity - roughly 1.7 million TEU - is stalled in port delays, with acute bottlenecks across Asia, Northern Europe and the Middle East. Panama waits stretch to 10 days and alternative Gulf gateways such as Khor Fakkan, Fujairah and Sohar face berthing delays of up to 14 days, pushing shippers toward longer buffers and higher demurrage risk.