Port congestion has been a recurring issue since 2020. Felixstowe, Southampton and Tilbury have all hit periods of severe backlog, with vessels waiting days at anchor before berthing. The knock-on effect on vehicle shipping is real.
Congestion at the load port pushes back your sailing date. Congestion at the destination port pushes back when your vehicle clears customs and is ready for collection. Both add cost — storage fees at destination ports start ticking the day the vessel discharges.
Routing flexibility helps. If Southampton is congested, switching a RoRo booking to Bristol or Tilbury can recover a week. Container shipments can sometimes be transhipped through Antwerp or Rotterdam to avoid UK bottlenecks.
We monitor port performance weekly and quote routes that are actually moving — not just the cheapest paper rate.