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Bad weather creates headwinds for trade between the Americas

The easing of restrictions on Panama Canal transits has brought some relief to exporters in South America, but other headwinds remain, which could accelerate the widening gap between imports and exports. This month, Seaboard Marine is expanding its West Coast South America service to the US East Coast with a call at Gloucester City. The first arrival at the New Jersey port is scheduled for 25 October. According to the carrier, this offers shippers in Chile, Peru, and Ecuador enhanced connectivity to the US north-east. Moreover, it appears that shippers in those origin countries won't have to worry about transiting the Panama Canal. Late last month, the canal authority (ACP) announced it would lift the restrictions on vessels moving through the neopanamax locks, bringing the number of daily transits back to 10, after a reduction of one at the beginning of September. It also increased the maximum draught by a foot to 49ft. The cap on daily transits at older locks remains at 23 (down from 25 since mid-September), but the lifting of the neopanamax passage was prompted by improved water level and abated concerns over the impact of this year's El Niño. Carriers and shippers had braced themselves for further cuts in transits in expectation of a predicted "Super El Niño". However, elsewhere in the region, weather patterns remain a headache. Warmer temperatures earlier and anticipated rain have caused Proarandanos, the Peruvian blueberry growers association, to scale back its export forecast by 4.2%, despite a 15% increase in the cultivated area this year. The new estimate falls 4.4% short of last year's total. Producers of grapes in northern Peru are expecting reduced production, as well as smaller fruit. The warmer conditions also affected mandarins, which reached the required internal maturity, but delayed the development of the orange skin colour favoured by some markets, particularly the US. As a result, fruit had to be sold to alternative markets in Latin America: in one week 270 containers of mandarins were shipped to Mexico, following 71 containers a year earlier., Chilean producers are more concerned about Washington's 12.5% tariff on their produce. One shipper stressed it was not "a marginal adjustment, but a concrete threat to the competitiveness of our national fruit industry". At margins typically between 6% and 8%, such tariffs "could wipe out a season's profits", he added. In Argentina, growers of oranges and mandarins are reeling from a triple-whammy of rising costs, falling domestic consumption and loss of competitiveness in international markets. According to the Entre Rios Citrus Federation, domestic consumption is down 10% from last year, exports have shrunk 34% and prices are up 17% - below the rate of inflation. According to the Chamber of Citrus Exporters of North-east Argentina, exports from the region used to exceed 100,000 tonnes a year, but have fallen well below this. These developments suggest South America's trade imbalance with the US will expand further. Data from the US Census Bureau show a discrepancy of $41.84bn over the first eight months of the year, with each month the difference exceeding the gap of 12 months earlier. This matches the picture of South America's overall trade. According to Maritime Analytica, maritime imports grew 8% in the first half, outpacing export growth of 3.5%. The gap widened 20%, to 1.7m teu. Likewise, CTS data show South America's maritime exports to North America shrank 1.1% year on year in July, whereas volume in the opposite direction expanded 7.2%. Moreover, southbound volumes have grown every month this year, whereas northbound traffic contracted every month except June. On a positive note, the Global Liner Performance Report for September, by Sea-Intelligence, shows schedule reliability between South and North America improved in both directions in the July/August period. Southbound it rose 1.2%, to 81.2%, year on year, while northbound it recovered from a drop the previous month, climbing 5.2 percentage points from June/July, to 80.6%, up 0.8%, year on year. The average delay for late vessels extended slightly, (up 0.09 percentage points from June/July) to 5.32 days, 1.55 days longer than a year ago. However, the average delay for all vessels shrank 0.20 days from June/July, to 1.10 days.

LX Pantos moves in, eyeing Poland's growing role in European logistics

South Korean logistics group LX Pantos has completed a $167m logistics centre in Katowice, Poland, as it expands its footprint in Central and Eastern Europe. The 109,000 sq metre complex of five buildings was jointly acquired by LX Pantos, the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp, and PIS No 2 Fund, the latter under South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, with financing provided in part by Korea Ocean Business Corp. LX Pantos said the facility in Upper Silesia would become a strategic hub for its Eastern European operations, supporting customers in sectors including automotive, consumer goods, and home appliances. It also expects the site to support other Korean companies expanding into Europe. Katowice sits at the intersection of major east-west and north-south transport corridors, with road, rail, and air connections linking Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and northern and southern Europe. The investment comes amid a trend of manufacturers and supply chains shifting towards Central and Eastern Europe. Paweł Kaźmierczak, chief commercial officer of 4R Cargo, told The Loadstar, on the sidelines of Aviation Connect last week, Poland and the wider region had been developing rapidly for several years, citing labour availability and skills, and economic growth as key factors. He pointed to companies also having adopted a "China plus one" strategy following Covid, moving some production into Eastern Europe. The war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions had accelerated some relocations, he added, including aircraft-parts manufacturing moving to Poland and Slovakia. "We are riding the wave of economic growth," said Mr Kaźmierczak. "We were in the right place at the right time, and we took advantage of that." For logistics providers, industrial expansion is creating demand beyond ecommerce, with Mr Kaźmierczak highlighting pharmaceuticals, aircraft parts, and automotive manufacturing as important cargo flows in the region. Poland's role as a logistics gateway is also being shaped by the war in Ukraine. Mr Kaźmierczak explained: "We see a lot of business coming from Ukraine via Poland and Slovakia, because there's no commercial airlines flying into Ukraine. We're seeing a lot of business coming this way and then flying out of Poland, flying out of Slovakia." And at the same time, Poland remains less exposed to the surge of Chinese ecommerce airfreight seen at some other Central European gateways. Mr Kaźmierczak said Hungary had seen large volumes coming in through Budapest, while Poland saw comparatively limited direct Chinese freighter activity. For LX Pantos, the Katowice investment represents more than additional warehousing capacity, it's a bet on the region becoming an increasingly important production, distribution, and transit base in Europe. Indeed, the company said once completed, the centre would strengthen its global logistics network and provide the infrastructure to meet growing demand in Eastern Europe and neighbouring markets.

Growing trade driving congestion and delays at West African ports

Strong volume growth along the West African coast growth is proving the double-edged sword some had warned of, with many of the ports that had been reaping rewards now subject to heavy and intensifying congestion. Ghana, Guinea, and Sierra Leone are among the countries most affected by delays sprouting up along the coast, all three rapidly approaching similar volumes to those handled in the entirety of 2025. Forwarders active on West African trades told The Loadstar they too had observed the congestion hobbling many of the ports' ability to function effectively, one expressing concern over looming temperature-controlled cargo due for delivery. A forwarder with volumes destined for Temam in Ghanam told The Loadstar: "CMA CGM has announced a congestion charge of $400 per teu for these shipments. This means an additional cost of $800 for each 40ft refrigerated container." Hapag-Lloyd has also announced a $250 surcharge on reefer shipments destined for Tema, which became applicable for shipments sailing as of yesterday, adding to the worries of cargo owners. The carrier has warned customers to expect delays of 10 days for discharging and loading goods, although Portcast claims that the situation at the Ghanian port may be improving, average waits having fallen below the four-day average, an improvement on last week. Instead, it singles Conakry and Freetown as the ports to be concerned about, congestion delays at both exceeding 10 days - a rapid deterioration at the Sierra Leone capital's gateway saw delays increase by four days, week on week, and by more than a day at Conakry. Only a month ago, Sierra Leone Ports and Harbours Authority director general Yankuba Askia Bio claimed a "decongestion" effort, led by multiple stakeholders, had succeeded, resulting in Freetown being removed from a list of congested African gateways. Efforts at Conakry to mitigate the worst of the congestion have seen trucks operating around the clock at Guinea's main gateway to keep cargo flowing, and ensure the backlog does not worsen. While at Tema, the Ghana Shippers' Authority said last month it was working with the port authority, shipping lines, and terminal operators to increase vessel calls to accelerate empty-container evacuation. But there is growing recognition across the sector that against a backdrop of surging volume growth, the ports are delaying what will inevitably be needed if they are to avoid a catastrophic collapse in supply chains - investment and expansion in infrastructure.