Port Congestion | Week 42 Line-up:Ten Florida ports remain closed, drought and warehouse overflows expected to cause congestion at Brazilian ports. 港口拥堵 | 42周line-up佛罗里达十个港口仍处于关闭状态，干旱和爆仓预计导致巴西港口拥堵

Hurricane Milton caused ten ports in Florida to remain closed

飓风米尔顿导致佛罗里达十个港口仍处于关闭状态

Affected by Hurricane Milton, 10 ports, including two major commercial ports on the Gulf Coast of Florida, remain closed. Previously, the U.S. Coast Guard set the Port of Tampa Bay and the Port of Manatee to "Zulu" status due to the hurricane, prohibiting commercial ships from entering, and the status was not lifted after the hurricane. It is reported that Florida is facing severe traffic congestion and fuel shortages, and about 17.6% of gas stations have been out of oil. This will seriously affect port transportation.

受飓风米尔顿的影响，包括佛罗里达州墨西哥湾沿岸两个主要商业港口在内的10个港口仍然关闭。此前美国海岸警卫队因飓风设定坦帕湾港和海牛港为“Zulu”状态，禁止商船进入，飓风过后该状态未解除。据报道，弗罗里达州正面临严重的交通拥堵和燃料短缺，大约有17.6%的加油站已经断油。这会严重影响港口交通运输。

The Port of Tampa Bay is the largest and most diversified port in Florida, handling more than 30 million tons of cargo each year, including bulk cargo, container cargo and other general cargo. The Port of Manatee is located at the entrance of Tampa Bay in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north of Manatee County, Florida. It is one of the largest deep-water seaports in Florida and one of the largest import gateways for fresh fruits and vegetables in the United States. In 2023, the Port of Manatee handled $351.17 million in exports and $1.84 billion in imports. Relevant people said that the Port of Manatee still had no power on October 10.

坦帕湾港是佛罗里达州规模最大，货物种类最丰富，业务最多元化的港口，每年处理超过3000万吨货物，包括散装货物、集装箱货物和其他杂货货物。海牛港位于墨西哥湾东部，佛罗里达州海牛县北部坦帕湾的入口处，是佛罗里达州最大的深水海港之一，也是美国最大的新鲜水果和蔬菜的进口门户之一。2023年，海牛港处理了3.5117亿美元的出口和18.4亿美元的进口。相关人士表示，海牛港10月10日仍没有电力。

According to experience, for every day the port is closed, the supply chain takes about 3 to 5 days to recover. Coupled with the previous strike by workers at the US docks, Florida needs more time to deal with the accumulated goods.

根据经验，港口每关闭一天，供应链就需要大约3到5天的时间才能恢复，加上此前美国码头的工人罢工事件，佛罗里达州需要更长的时间处理堆积货物。

Drought and excess cargo pile-up are expected to cause congestion at Brazilian ports

干旱和爆仓预计导致巴西港口拥堵

According to a report released by the Brazilian National Commodity Supply Company (CONAB), Brazil's cotton production is expected to be 3.65 million tons in 2023/24, higher than the previous estimate of 3.644 million tons. This is also supported by the latest October report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which raised Brazil's cotton production to 3.658 million tons. This production increased by 0.60% month-on-month, and the year-on-year increase was as high as 15.31%, showing the strong momentum of Brazil's cotton industry.

巴西国家商品供应公司（CONAB）发布的报告显示，2023/24年度巴西棉产量料为365万吨，较高于之前364.4万吨预估，这也得到了美国农业部（USDA）最新10月报告的支持，将巴西棉产量上调至365.8万吨，这一产量环比增长达到了0.60%，而同比涨幅更是高达15.31%，显示出巴西棉花产业的强劲势头。

However, behind this optimistic production forecast, there are some hidden concerns. Recently, Brazil has suffered a severe drought, causing the water level of the Amazon River tributaries to drop to a record low. At the same time, Brazil's agricultural exports have grown rapidly, especially the surge in exports of major agricultural products such as sugar, soybeans, corn, and cotton, causing export logistics to pile up at the ports. The combination of these factors has led buyers to expect congestion at Brazilian ports from October to December.

但是这一乐观产量的预测背后，却隐藏着一些隐忧。近期，巴西遭遇了严重干旱，导致亚马逊河支流水位降至历史新低。同时，巴西的农产品出口迅猛增长，尤其是白糖、大豆、玉米、棉花等主要农产品的出口量激增，导致了出口物流的严重“撞车”现象。这些因素叠加，使得采购商预计10月至12月巴西港口可能出现拥堵现象。
The U.S. strike has ended, but other problems are beginning to emerge

美国罢工虽已结束，但其他问题开始显现

Although the U.S. strike lasted only three days, its impact on port operations is still continuing to ferment. According to relevant reports, at least 54 container ships were lined up outside the port during the strike, and it is expected to take 2 to 3 weeks or even longer to gradually ease. This situation has undoubtedly become one of the key factors affecting global container ship capacity due to port congestion.

美国罢工虽仅持续三天，但其对港口运营的影响仍在持续发酵。据相关报告显示，罢工期间有至少54艘集装箱船在港口外排队，预计需要2到3周，甚至更久的时间才能逐步缓解，这种情况无疑成为了全球集装箱船运力受港口拥堵影响的关键因素之一。

As the end of the year approaches, the peak shipping period has also arrived as scheduled. In order to meet this challenge, many cross-border sellers have chosen to prepare goods in advance. However, what followed was a significant increase in the probability of cargo inspection. This change may be due to the high attention paid to safety and compliance during the peak shipping period at the end of the year. More stringent inspection requirements inevitably led to a slowdown in the speed of cargo exports, and the natural increase in cargo exports at the end of the year further exacerbated port congestion.

随着年底的临近，出货高峰期也如约而至，许多跨境卖家为了应对这一挑战，纷纷选择提前备货。然而，随之而来的是货物查验概率的显著升高。这一变化可能源于对年底出货高峰期安全性和合规性的高度重视。更为严格的查验要求不可避免地导致了货物出口速度的减缓，加之年底货物出口量的自然增加，进一步加剧了港口的拥堵现象。

Against this background, relevant people said that starting from October 10, cargo arriving at ports in the eastern United States will face additional surcharges. This temporary surcharge is a direct response to the strike, aimed at alleviating the economic pressure caused by the strike. In addition, with the arrival of the peak season, the increase in surcharges has also led to excess cargo pile-up in Amazon and other warehouses. This not only affects the timely entry of goods into the warehouse, but may also cause the warehouse to postpone the appointment time, which may be delayed by one to three weeks, bringing greater uncertainty and challenges to the seller's logistics arrangements.

在这一背景下，有关人士透露，自10月10日起，抵达美东港口的货物将面临额外的附加费用。这一临时性的附加费是针对此次罢工情况的直接应对措施，旨在缓解罢工带来的经济压力。此外，随着旺季的到来，附加费的上涨也导致了亚马逊等多个仓库出现了严重的爆仓现象。这不仅影响了货物的及时入库，还可能导致仓库推延预约时间，放约时间可能将延后一到三周不等，给卖家的物流安排带来了更大的不确定性和挑战。