Portcast Insights | August 2026
Data-driven intelligence on port congestion, transit times & supply chain risks.
Key Global Ports: Current Congestion Status
This table highlights congestion levels across key container ports based on vessel waiting activity observed during the previous week (August 16-22).
Port congestion remains one of the strongest leading indicators of potential shipment delays. Monitoring congestion trends helps logistics teams anticipate disruptions before they impact delivery performance and costs.
| Port |
Congestion Status |
Avg Vessels Waiting / Day |
Median Vessel Waiting Time |
Week-over-Week Change |
|
Shanghai
China
|
● High |
131 |
3.5d |
▲ 0.7d |
|
Jebel Ali
United Arab Emirates
|
● Medium |
2 |
1.2d |
▲ 0.7d |
|
Nhava Sheva
India
|
● Low |
6 |
0.5d |
▲ 0.4d |
|
Antwerp
Belgium
|
● Low |
15 |
0.2d |
▼ 0.2d |
|
Singapore
Singapore
|
● Low |
32 |
0.2d |
▲ 0.1d |
|
Busan
Korea
|
● Low |
20 |
0.1d |
▲ 0.1d |
|
Qingdao
China
|
● Low |
10 |
0.1d |
▼ 0.3d |
|
Rotterdam
Netherlands
|
● Low |
12 |
0.1d |
— 0.0d |
|
Hamburg
Germany
|
● Low |
9 |
0.1d |
▲ 0.04d |
|
Los Angeles
United States Of America
|
● Low |
0 |
0.1d |
— 0.0d |
Data period: Previous week (August 16-22).
Congestion Status: Current congestion level. | Avg Vessels Waiting/Day: Average number of vessels awaiting berth allocation. | Median Vessel Waiting Time: Typical waiting time before entering the port. | Week-over-Week Change: Change in median waiting time compared to the week before.
Congestion Status is based primarily on median vessel waiting time before entering the port. Avg Vessels Waiting/Day and week-over-week changes provide additional context and may act as leading indicators of emerging congestion, helping logistics teams identify ports where delays could increase in the coming weeks.
To monitor congestion across the ports that matter most to your business, check the link below.
Transit Time Trends Across Key Trade Lanes
Ocean transit time is the duration required for cargo to travel by sea from its origin to its destination. The table below highlights trade lanes showing the largest difference between planned and actual transit times.
| Trade Lane |
Avg Delay vs Planned |
Carrier Schedule Reliability |
Transit Time Change Vs
Previous 3 Months |
|
Indian Peninsula → North/West Europe
|
▲ 5.4d |
46.3%
|
▼ 1.9% |
|
Asia (China/Korea/Japan) → North/West Europe
|
▲ 5.2d |
48.2%
|
▼ 3.5% |
|
Oceania → Asia (China/Korea/Japan)
|
▲ 3.9d |
52.3%
|
▲ 7.0% |
|
North America → Caribbean
|
▲ 3.8d |
70.1%
|
▲ 17.7% |
|
SEA → North America
|
▲ 3.2d |
61.1%
|
▼ 1.3% |
|
SEA → SEA
|
▲ 2.7d |
63.3%
|
▼ 1.2% |
Data period: Rolling last 3 months compared against the preceding 3-month period.
Avg Delay vs Planned: Difference between actual and planned transit times. | Carrier Schedule Reliability: Percentage of shipments arriving within the expected transit time window. | Transit Time Change vs Previous 3 Months: Change in transit time performance compared to the preceding three-month period. Transit time calculations are based on actual containers tracked on the Portcast platform.
