If you've been tracking your containers out of Shanghai or Ningbo this week, you're probably feeling a bit anxious. And honestly, you've got every right to be.
Typhoon Bavi tore through North Asia over the weekend, and it didn't just leave behind some rain and wind-it left behind a logistical nightmare. By Sunday, an estimated 2 million TEU of container ship capacity was delayed across major ports. That's not a typo. Two million.
Consultancy Linerlytica reported that North Asia accounted for a staggering 54% of all global container port congestion. And here's the part that should worry anyone with cargo in the region: they estimate it'll take a full two weeks to clear the backlog.
What Actually Happened
Shanghai-the world's busiest container port-started evacuating its berths on 9 July, with ships ordered to clear the deepwater Yangshan terminal by 8pm on 10 July. Vessels at Waigaoqiao terminal followed suit.
Ningbo, the third-busiest container port globally, suspended all container collection and delivery operations from noon on 10 July. Terminals across the Ningbo area stopped accepting pick-ups and gate-ins. Ports along the Yangtze River that feed into Shanghai and Ningbo-Taiwan, Nantong, Changsha, Nanjing-all closed as a preventive measure.
Over in Taiwan, Kaohsiung ordered hazardous cargo ships out of the Intercontinental Terminal by 10am, and all other vessels had to clear the port by 10pm on 10 July. Taipei Port Container Terminal shut down entirely.
And the impact was immediate. Vessel activity around Shanghai plummeted by 50%, dropping from 180 vessels at berth to just 83.
The "Reopening" Isn't the End of the Story
Shanghai resumed port operations on 13 July. But don't pop the champagne just yet.
As Seko Logistics put it: "Port gates reopening doesn't mean that vessel schedules have immediately normalised. Pilotage, berth sequencing and vessel movements may require additional recovery time, while ships that slowed, diverted or waited outside the affected area are repositioned".
Translation? Even if your terminal says it's open, your ship might still be sitting somewhere off the coast, waiting for its turn. And when it does finally berth, you'll be competing with everyone else's backlogged cargo for space, trucks, and labour.
The ONE San Diego actually skipped Shanghai altogether-export cargo was transferred to another vessel that also skipped Ningbo. Cargo meant to be discharged in Shanghai was instead released in Hong Kong and transhipped. That's the kind of creative rerouting happening right now.
This Is Exactly When a Good Forwarder Earns Their Keep
At Xiamen AE Global, we've been moving freight through this kind of disruption since 2018-and we've learned that when a super typhoon throws a wrench into the world's busiest shipping lanes, having the right relationships and the right technology makes all the difference.
We're a government-licensed company with IATA, FIATA, FMC, and NVOCC credentials. That's not just paperwork-it means we have the global network and the regulatory standing to pivot quickly when things go sideways. With over 100 overseas agents worldwide, we're not scrambling to figure out alternative routes when a port shuts down. We're already on the phone with partners in southern Chinese terminals like Yantian and Shekou-which weren't affected by the typhoon-figuring out how to get your cargo moving.
Technology That Cuts Through the Noise
We've invested heavily in real-time visibility tools that actually tell you what's happening with your shipment-not just a tracking number that sits there while your container waits in a yard somewhere. When a port evacuation order goes out, we know about it immediately. When vessel schedules get reshuffled, we're already working on alternatives.
That means you're not sitting there wondering whether your container made it onto that ship before the port shut down. You know. And more importantly, we're already executing a plan B.
Local Knowledge, Global Reach
Based in Xiamen-right in the heart of the region that just got hammered by Bavi-we understand these storms and their ripple effects better than anyone. We've moved over 12,000 TEUs in a single year with a 98.6% on-time delivery rate for our SME clients. That's not luck-it's the result of relentless execution and a network that doesn't fall apart when a Category 5 storm blows through.
The Bottom Line
Two million TEU delayed. Two weeks to clear the backlog. Ports from Shanghai to Kaohsiung to Taipei shut down or severely restricted. This isn't a minor hiccup-it's a major supply chain event.
But here's the thing: disruptions like this are going to happen. Typhoons hit this region every year. The question isn't whether another storm will come-it's whether you have a logistics partner who knows how to navigate the chaos when it does.
At Xiamen AE Global, we don't just move boxes. We turn complex cross-border logistics into predictable outcomes-even when a super typhoon just threw the world's busiest shipping lanes into complete disarray.
Because when your containers are sitting in a backlog that's going to take two weeks to clear, you don't need a tracking number. You need a partner who can get them moving again.
Don't let typhoon season derail your supply chain. Contact Xiamen AE Global today for smart, flexible logistics solutions that keep your cargo moving-no matter what the weather throws at it.
