据油价网2021年8月18日报道，今年，全球航运市场一直是一个令人沮丧的谈论主题。
在过去的8个月里，我们已经发布了2到3个关于当前全球航运市场状态的更新报告，每次都希望情况能够有所改善。但 令人沮丧的是，当我们回过头去看的时候，全球航运市场已经变得更糟。
运费上涨
自今年年初以来，全球航运市场运费飙升，港口拥堵加剧，集装箱可用性下降。 航线停运已成为一种普遍现象。
新冠肺炎疫情影响航运业
与此同时，拖船工人短缺和港口严重拥堵，正导致航运公司跳过欧洲的一些港口停靠，甚至在船只卸货后也延长了交货时间。 本月，由于道路运输司机严重短缺，英国港口的集装箱在运送到目的地之前被延误了两周。 在欧洲，同样的问题正在导致航班延误，不仅是英国和欧洲之间，欧洲大陆市场也是如此。
令人沮丧的是，今年的情况似乎不太可能有所改善。
在圣诞节节期来临之前，需求已经开始上升。 零售商为黑色星期五、感恩节和圣诞节提前备货，给本已混乱的物流市场增加了产能压力。
随着下半年的到来，全球航运市场运费有可能会进一步上涨，延误可能会进一步延长，因此消费者要对此做好心理准备。
李峻 编译自 油价网
原文如下：
The Global Shipping Market Is Looking Increasingly Fragile
The global shipping market has been a depressing topic to report align="justify"> We have posted two or three updates align="justify"> Rising shipping rates
Freight rates have soared since the beginning of the year. Port congestion has increased and container availability has decreased. Shipping line shutouts have become a common feature.
COVID impacts shipping
Not surprisingly, the latest wave of port congestion is raising the prospect of further increases in already unprecedented shipping rates. For example, 40-foot container rates recently topped $20,000 align="justify"> Meanwhile, a shortage of haulers and high levels of port congestion is causing shipping lines to skip some port calls in Europe and to extended delivery times even after vessels are unloaded. This month, containers in the U.K. have been delayed at the port for up to two weeks before they could be delivered to their destination due to an acute shortage of road haulage drivers. The same problem across Europe is causing delays, not just between the U.K. and Europe, but also within the European continental market.
Depressingly, there seems little likely to improve the situation this year.
Demand is already ramping up ahead of the Christmas season. Retailers stocking early for Black Friday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are adding capacity pressures to an already chaotic logistics market.
Consumers should be prepared for the possibility freight rates may rise even further and delays become even more extended as the second half of the year unfolds.