As part of our commitment to provide you with the most up-to-date and relevant information on the logistics industry, we share our Market Update on the Latin American market.
You will find information and interesting data on the update of the state of the ports, the most important transport routes and relevant news.
We hope you'll find the following information helpful, as well as inspiring to boost your business and keep your cargo moving.
2022 Recap and What to expect for 2023
Believe it or not, new year is just around the corner and during this topic of the month, we will dedicate this space to cover some of the prominent trends that affected the industry during 2022 and what to expect for next year.
2022 Recap
The past years haven’t been easy for anyone, and logistics is no exception. There have been several events that impacted the global supply chain; the whole world lived through a pandemic and other geopolitical events that have been causing disruptions that led to significant challenges.
Apart from the supply challenges, the logistics world also faced increased prices and became resilient with many actions, one of them: increasing focus on larger quantities and storage, which led to companies moving from “just in time” to a “just in case.” Sustainability was a trend this year, and the energy transition became something important for the market.
Visibility was crucial for the supply chain to make decisions on processes, cost efficiency, pre-visibility, and better control. The role of technology and digitalization was important during this year so that the stakeholders could have visibility on how the supply chain was behaving with its rapid changes. And all these challenges were faced with resilient actions.
2023 Trends
As we faced the past two years, numerous factors influenced the supply chain over the past years, and for 2023 there are a lot of expectations and trends on what actions can be made to anticipate the changing market. Being aware of the trends will be important to look forward to the decisions to take for this upcoming year.
Some trends that the logistics world will face in 2023 can be:
- Reshoring and nearshoring
Reshoring, returning domestic product manufacturing from a foreign country back to the home country where the business´s products are sold, and Nearshoring, when a company transfers work to another organization that´s in its own region, both could be one of the components that will help bypass any potential issue caused by shortages and backlogs. - Digitalization
As we saw in 2022, digitalization was a great tool for the visibility of the supply chain process, from raw materials and transportation and warehousing to manufacturing and distribution. Integrating digitalization not only gives more visibility but also removes manual processes and increases efficiency and accuracy, and enables supply chain managers to optimize the supply chain from end to end. - Geopolitics
As we have seen, geopolitical issues have impacted the supply chain for several years. This past 2022 some events and international politics had an important effect on logistics and will continue for the next year. - E-commerce
Despite all the supply chain issues, e-commerce continues to grow at an impressive rate. In the upcoming year, we expect to see companies looking for strategically located distribution centers to serve their customers to receive and process returns. - Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
ESG Compliance has been increasing for companies to prove that they operate under sustainable and ethical actions. Some governments are improving their legislation requiring businesses to monitor their supply chain for human rights violations and ensure the compliance of human rights in the operations focusing on the supply chain. - Sustainability
Supply chain stakeholders have been taking actions to eliminate carbon emissions by 2040 and 2050, and achieving this goal has required a lot of effort and anticipation. Many businesses are working with their logistics providers to help them not only reduce carbon emissions but also to track them and help them convey their reduction in emissions to consumers. In 2023, businesses will continue to seek a greener supply chain, from sourcing sustainable raw materials to evaluating greenhouse gas emissions.
Right now, some significant challenges still put pressure on the global economic scenario. Inflation remains an issue on most of the planet, adding pressure to the global economic recovery. In Europe, energy prices are not expected to see a relief in the near future, while in the US, it is still not clear to which level will the Federal Reserve (FED) goes to tame inflation. China’s zero covid policy remains, adding additional pressure on the global supply chains. It`s still unclear if and when we will see a softening in the policy.
Stay tuned for the upcoming Market Updates of 2023, as we will be sharing with you monthly the topics and trends around logistics.
Ocean Updates
| Trade lane | Comments | Demand Trend |
|---|---|---|
|
Trade lane
WCSA to Asia
|
Comments
|
Demand Trend
stable in general; up for cherries
|
|
Trade lane
East Coast to Asia
|
Comments
Strong protein demand remains in Africa. Lower reefer demand in China until the end of this year due to high stock in China and low consumption in the Chinese market. But as of Q1, the expectation is to have a stronger demand.
Cotton to China is also expected to remain low for the coming months. Due to the low consumption, they have high stocks in the country, and China's quota is also uncertainty. |
Demand Trend
Stable
|
|
Trade lane
East Coast to Europe
|
Comments
High inflation and low consumption in Europe remain uncertain.
On reefer, customers are having problems with Egypt payment. The halal market (Middle East) is being shifted to African trade. The cotton market has good expectations for the Middle East for the coming months. |
Demand Trend
|
Main port status
Key ports across our global network have made significant improvements in waiting time as a consequence of less congestion and a drop in volumes,
- In Northern Europe, the situation at ports remains stable; however, due to weather disruptions on the crossing, we should attempt line-up delays, mainly in Southampton, Antwerp, and Bremerhaven
- In Asia, the situation is stable, and the only port with experienced waiting time is Tauranga, where vessels can wait up to 2 days to get a space at the berth. Delays are mainly due to labor shortages and strong winds impacting vessel productivity and, consequently, delays to the port line-up.
- In Latin America, the situation related to weather disruption remains deteriorating the line up mainly in the Gulf of Mexico. The North Winds, common in that area from October up to March, are often causing port closure and line-up disruption. Waiting time in Veracruz and Altamira can reach up to 2 days.
- In North America, on the West Coast, the situation has a signal of improvement; waiting time in Oakland has reduced from 18 to 12 days; however situation with labor shortage remains. On East Coast, Savannah remains critical, and waiting time can reach 12 days. For the Canadian ports, Vancouver remains critical, with waiting time experienced up to 38 days.
| Less than 1 Day | 1-3 Days | 4 - 7 days | More than 7 days | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Latin America
|
Less than 1 Day
SSA/ Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas, Moin, hubs (Balboa, MIT, PSA, Cristobal and Cartagena ), Buenaventura, Callao, Guayaquil, Valparaiso, San Antonio (Chile), Santos, Paranagua, Itajai, Itapoa, Paranagua, Buenos Aires, Montevideo.
|
1-3 Days
Veracruz, Altamira
|
4 - 7 days
|
More than 7 days
|
|
Rest of World
|
Less than 1 Day
Singapore, Malaysia, Norfolk, Charleston, North Charleston, Jacksonville, Port Everglades, Tampa, Long Beach, Los Angeles
|
1-3 Days
Tauranga, Philadelphia, Seattle, Miami, Freeport, Newark, Baltimore, New Orleans, Mobile, Antwerp,Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, London, Hamburg, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Busan, Ningbo, Yantian, Shangai, Prince Rupert (*)
|
4 - 7 days
|
More than 7 days
Vancouver, Savannah, Oakland, Houston (*)
|
(*) - cargo connections can be impacted considering the delays reported.
Landside updates
Brazil: We are pleased to inform you that our project “Agua Branca Railway Terminal in São Paulo,” was the winner of the 2022 Abralog (Brazilian Logistics Association) award in the Intermodal category! This terminal offers our customers transportation between the Port of Santos and the metropolitan region of São Paulo via rail.
Air updates
ECSA: The resume of passenger planes with cargo option (PAX) provided more capacity, and the low perishable season countrywide has lowered the demand.
WCSA: Import demand has been lower than in previous years for retail, lifestyle, FMCG & tech due to available stocks. Regarding export, the Cherry season has been lower than expected due to the late harvest of the product, some rains that diminished the production and a lower sale rate in China.
MAA: Rates and capacity remain stable, in fact, it has been an atypical "Peak Season", with lower demand compared to previous years in some verticals such as lifestyle and retail.
CAR: CAR Area, mainly Colombia & Panama, extending passenger flight capacity due to travelers' peak season during December and January.
Highlights
Empowering women in logistics!
We are proud to share we have launched, Women InVest, a program with a mission to generate change in social and cultural structure and a goal to increase diversity across our operations. Read more
Efficient warehousing and distribution are crucial parts of your supply chain.
Maersk’s solutions in Latin America are expertly designed to keep your products flowing at a pace of your choosing.
Learn from Douglas Tacla, Regional Head of Warehousing and Distribution for Maersk, Latin America, about our extensive network connectivity in Brazil and the region, along with our end-to-end logistics solutions, in this video. Find out more
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