Shipping delays. They're a common frustration for businesses and consumers alike. Late shipping and delays cause headaches: missed deadlines, strained supplier relationships, lost revenue, and unhappy customers.
Understanding why shipping delays happen is the first step to reducing their impact. This week we’ll take a look at common causes, from supply chain issues and global events to weather and human error, understanding these things allows you to plan accordingly, especially with SeaRates and our digital tools.
The Causes of Shipping Delays
Shipping delays can come from a variety of issues throughout the supply chain. Sometimes the problem is internal, such as production bottlenecks or bad inventory management.
External factors like port congestion, weather events, and political instability often play a major role in ocean freight delays too. About 90% of global trade is done by sea, according to the International Transport Forum.
This dependence on maritime transport means that issues at any point in the journey, from factory to final destination, can disrupt the flow of goods.
Supply Chain Disruptions: Disruptions to the supply chain are one of the main causes of shipping delays. Unexpected surges in demand, shortages of raw materials, or problems at any stage in the production or transport process can cause freight delays.
Global Events: Global events, like pandemics, political unrest, or natural disasters, can seriously mess up international shipping. Border closures, lockdowns, and disruptions to labour markets put huge strain on supply chains worldwide, contributing to widespread shipping delays.
Weather Disruptions: You might think a snowstorm in the US midwest is a local issue. However, when a blizzard closes major transportation hubs, it causes significant disruptions beyond that area.
Major events, such as hurricanes can even close ports and transportation networks for weeks. A storm surge impacting the South African coast can make things worse, as seen with recent cargo ship delays reported by Maersk.
Congestion and Capacity: Another factor to consider is the growth of the container fleet. It is expected to grow by up to 8.1% by the end of 2024. Increased container traffic, especially during peak seasons for certain goods, further strains ports and shipping infrastructure. Add in environmental regulations designed to reduce ship emissions, which have slowed down sailing speeds, and the chances of container shipping delays happening in the future become very real.
Managing Shipping Delays
You can't prevent cargo shipping problems such as unexpected delays from occurring, but planning for them can reduce headaches and help you keep good relationships with your suppliers and customers. Here's what you can do to reduce their impact and keep your business processes running smoothly.
Early Planning: Many recent shipping delays are due to retailers trying to get their holiday goods earlier. US forwarders report their demand increase is partly from upcoming tariff increases on certain Chinese goods.
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This causes retailers to import items earlier to save money. The recent rise in delays and prices may be putting more pressure on many businesses to avoid problems during the busy holiday season.
Choose the Right Carrier and Location: Choosing the right logistics provider or carrier is crucial to streamlining your shipping process. Don't just work with the first carrier you find. Take time to research, which is made easier with SeaRates, the largest digital freight marketplace.
Pay attention to their reputation for reliability, their areas of specialisation, and the technology they use. Remember the two factors that are crucial for successful fulfillment: the average distance to your customer from the warehouse and the warehouse's lead times.
Implement Technology: Humans make mistakes. The average person regrets just over 18% of their decisions during their lifetime. It might seem high, but these small inaccuracies add up.
The solution? Use technology. Automating shipping processes helps to fulfill orders efficiently. You can eliminate potential data entry errors, which ultimately lead to expensive shipping delays. Using route planning tools, for example, allows you to streamline processes, optimise delivery routes, and select the right carrier. Automation helps to improve data accuracy and process predictability and can minimise delays from inaccurate documentation.
Invest in Tracking and Communication
These days, customers want transparency about their shipments. Regularly update them on their order status, including realistic delivery estimates. Investing in order tracking systems makes sure this communication happens.
This also helps to keep things running on your side. These systems let you monitor the progress of your shipments, giving you the opportunity to respond quickly if there are any signs of potential international shipping delays. You can also share notifications directly with your customers reducing the need for phone calls.
If you're facing an unexpected problem, communicating early lets you offer customers alternative solutions.
Think Contingency Plans
Things go wrong. It's unavoidable. Creating a contingency plan that anticipates these issues is your best tool when they happen. Identify likely disruptions that could occur, such as weather, strikes, supplier issues, production bottlenecks, or political upheaval.
Develop a plan of action that you can use right away. This should also outline clear communication to both your suppliers and customers to maintain transparency and ensure a steady flow of information about potential issues as they happen.
Key Takeaways
Freight delays can feel like an impossible hurdle for many of us. It's no fun anxiously watching your order tracking, only to find it's stuck.
However, if you understand the reasons behind cargo shipping delays, dealing with them becomes a bit easier. Whether you're the freight forwarder arranging shipping, the business waiting for deliveries, or a consumer waiting for a package, we are all in this complex logistics map together. Remember, when you book with SeaRates, our experts are also available to help and support you—whatever your shipping requirements.
