Amid soaring China exports, Europe’s ports are feeling the heat
European ports are facing significant congestion and operational delays due to a surge in Chinese exports, particularly cooling appliances during a record-breaking heatwave. Labor disputes and extreme weather have further exacerbated the strain on the logistics network.
Why it matters
The situation highlights the fragility of global supply chains when faced with sudden shifts in demand and climate-related operational disruptions.
With summer temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius across several European countries, westbound trade from China is heating up just as fast – despite growing concerns among EU politicians over widening trade imbalances.
Prompted by soaring shipments, congestion along the China-Europe Railway Express has worsened during the past few months, according to industry insiders.
“The congestion used to be at China’s departure ports. Now it has shifted to Europe’s ports of entry,” said Andrew Jiang, general manager of freight forwarder Air Sea Transport, which specialises in shipping goods via rail.
While Jiang said the Europe-bound export orders his company handled in June dropped a bit from May’s peak, the latest Chinese customs data showed that the country’s exports to the European Union rose 18.5 per cent year on year in June, more than double the previous month’s growth rate.
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