The global container crisis has had significant effects on the prices of various inputs and the arrival of finished goods and services in the country. A situation that seems far from over and has been impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(Read: Shenzhen, the thermometer of logistics recovery).
Before the war began, the price of moving a 40-foot container between Asia and Europe (port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands) reached its highest historical level at the beginning of October, $14,807. This value, for March 10, last stood at 12,695 dollars, 14.95 percent below that record, according to data from the Drewry firm, a supply chain advisor.
However, the number remains 98% higher than what was recorded a year ago, when moving a container between Shanghai and Rotterdam represented a value of 7,476 dollars, that is, 41% less.
According to Miguel Espinosa, executive president of the Colombian Federation of International Trade Logistics Agents (Fitac), although the highest cost peak occurred in September of last year, in December it had already “normalized”, but without ever reaching levels prepandemic.
For the manager, geopolitical events have had a strong impact on the logistics sector; in the maritime cargo movements, by road, rail and air. Along with this, there will be effects on the supply chains of the conflict, especially in terms of food security and energy costs.
This crisis has generated that different international organizations have made calls to find ways to avoid interruptions in the logistics chain. Espinosa also explains that maritime transport had the lowest freight costs before the pandemic.
(What’s more: Transport: alert for container delivery failures).
However, while the ports suffer from blockades and shortages; and sanctions continue, transportation rates will continue to rise. In other words, as economies continue to reopen more vigorously, transportation may be compromised to move goods, which makes not only freight more expensive, but also the goods to be moved.
FINAL COSTS
According to Dane, although in February the contribution of imported final goods was only 0.05 percentage points to the monthly variation of 3.23 percent of the producer price index (PPI), the variation of this indicator for inputs and imported goods for the agricultural sector was 3.11 percent in the month, and for the exploitation of mines and quarries was 7.43 percent.
In February, the World Trade Organization (WTO) indicated that the container shipping index (97.2) fell further below trend as the port congestion it remained a persistent problem, although its slow rate of decline might herald a recovery in the near future.
“Container movement at major ports has largely stagnated. Purchasing Managers’ Indices show that delivery times gradually decreased around the world, but not fast enough for many producers and consumers”, warned the entity just a few weeks ago.
BRIEFCASE
With information from El Tiempo*
