Bottlenecks at ports and in the hinterland
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The 2022 financial year was initially dominated by ongoing disruption to global supply chains. Container vessels were backed up off many coasts, in some cases with waiting times running into weeks, which had a substantial impact on liner shipping companies’ transport capacity and adherence to schedules. The situation was further aggravated by lockdowns in China, strikes at ports and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. In order to address the challenges of the market environment, we sold used vessels, made network and route adjustments, invested in personnel and IT capacities and further expanded the range of digital services that we offer to customers. The beginning economic slowdown in the second half of the year led to a noticeable decline in demand for container transport. As a result, the backlogs at ports were resolved and the freight rate level stabilised.