The shipping container shortage in 2021 is a result of many factors. Higher than normal demand for products, gradual recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and layoffs in the global supply chain are just a few of the causes. While availability of containers is improving, the current shortage is expected to continue for some time.
When Will the Shortage End?
First, the good news: this shipping container shortage shouldn’t last forever. There are more than enough shipping containers in the world (estimated at 180 million) and more being built daily to accommodate the vast amount of products manufactured around the globe. So the most truthful, simple answer is this should be a temporary inconvenience.
The bad news — in regard to this specific issue — is that shipping containers need products to fill them, workers to load, ship and receive them, and transportation for the oftentimes long journey. Even though the outlook for all of these things is getting better as a whole, they still all hinge upon several different factors affected by COVID-19.
The restrictions imposed by cities, states and countries will impact how quickly and how much of this work can be done on a daily basis. As COVID-19 has shown during its existence, all it takes is an outbreak in one area of the globe for the ripples to be felt thousands of miles away.
That is one factor; the other is when the imbalance mentioned in an earlier section can be rectified. This is in both full containers left for days and even weeks just short of entering a port or even empty containers that were sitting in port not being utilized whatsoever. So while no one in the world can give an exact date on when the shortage will end, once COVID-19 and the shipping container imbalance are both leveled out, the availability of shipping containers should go up and the price increase associated with this shortage should come back down.
In the meantime, while there’s no magical fix, you can choose to find a logistics partner that was well-positioned before this shipping container shortage emerged. One that uses its various connections and resources to get you paired with the containers you need, where you need them. While those transportation units might cost more in the short term, your preferred partner should also strive to negotiate the best possible rate on your behalf.
Going this route can somewhat soften the blow of the rising expenses or limited availability of these essential parts of importing and exporting the products you need moved.
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