The shipping company Maersk reported that it will implement a surcharge for the congestion presented by the ports of Acajutla, in El Salvador, and Corinto, in Nicaragua, from November 17.
The measure will apply for all cargo to and from both terminals, according to a notice that the company sent to its customers and to which the RANIFIFIED PRENSA had access.
In his communication, Maersk asserts that the decision is due to the “continuous operational challenges” in the aforementioned ports, which include waiting times of between seven and 10 days.
This situation was reported by the Salvadoran private sector several weeks ago, although nuanced that the congestion problem affects all Pacific ports and even other areas of the world.
The surcharge will apply to both import and export tariffs and will be $1,000 for all types of containers.
This will allow Maersk to continue working on measures to reduce the impact of these adverse operating conditions, including continuing to have regular calls in ports within the standard rotations of our services, said the shipping company in the circular dated October 18.
As of October 13, 2024, the port of Acajutla had mobilized more than 4.2 million metric tons of cargo, both of import and export, according to figures published by the Autonomous Port Executive Commission (CEPA).
Delays
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of El Salvador (CAMARASAL) commented a few days ago that the port of Acajutla is not the only one facing saturation problems in the management of the cargo at the moment. The problem of congestion in maritime terminals is regional, the guild stressed.
In 2024, international trade has continued to face challenges after the changes brought about by the covid-19 pandemic.
In recent months, delays in maritime transport have been reported, there is saturation in ports operating as regional distribution centers and the expectation continues despite the return of the “normality” in the traffic of ships through the Panama Canal.
The recent strike in the ports of the east coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico, which is on pause for the time being, has also impacted, although it was only two and a half days.
The protest was suspended as the parties negotiate new working conditions. On Thursday, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reported that world trade in goods grew by only 1% between January and July this year.
With the pandemic shock, world trade contracted by 5 per cent, bounced back to 9 per cent in 2021 but fell to 1.2% in 2023.
This is explained, in part, by geopolitical tensions, disruptions in value chains, disturbances in loopholes of the main routes of world maritime trade, high energy prices, inflationary levels that maintained high interest rates in the international economy, explained José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, executive secretary of ECLAC.
This article has been translated after first appearing in La Prensa Grafica