Surge in cargo demand

Upward trend: The container-volume rebound is driven by growth in spending on household goods and other equipment as people are forced to stay at home due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions. — AFP

SINGAPORE: Container ships arriving to berth at Singapore’s port are facing longer waiting times in a situation seen in other key ports due to the sudden surge in cargo volume fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to The Business Times (BT).

Ng Baoying, the global managing editor for container shipping at S&P Global Platts, told BT that the daily average number of vessels staying at Singapore’s port for more than two days in January and February both jumped over 60% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 47 and 52 respectively.