Collective "Overstocking" at Three Major Ports: Yantian, Shekou, and Nansha
Recently, the three core ports in South China – Yantian Port, Shekou Port, and Nansha Port – have simultaneously experienced a rare phenomenon of "overstocking." The surge in container shipping demand has led to extremely tight port resources. Among them, the 1,500 empty container return appointment slots released by Yantian Port yesterday were fully booked within just one hour, setting a record for the fastest booking speed in the port's appointment system in recent years.
Port "Overstocking" Highlights Logistics Pressure
According to port operation data, since late October, the container throughput of Yantian, Shekou, and Nansha ports has increased by over 35% year-on-year. The combination of empty container returns and export loading demands has kept yard utilization rates consistently above 95%. A representative from Yantian Port's terminal operations department stated, "We have increased the daily number of empty container return appointment slots by 20% compared to usual, but it still cannot fully meet market demand."
Industry analysis indicates that this concentrated port "overstocking" is mainly driven by multiple factors: the pre-holiday season shipping peak for Europe and the U.S., the reflux of manufacturing orders to Southeast Asia, pre-stocking for the "Double Eleven" cross-border e-commerce promotions, and adjustments in certain shipping routes. These overlapping factors have placed enormous operational pressure on South China's ports.
