For many, port congestion only became a significant concern when the global pandemic made it a front-page news story. However, for supply chain managers, this has long been a familiar risk, and the situation since that time has not followed a straight line back to normal. This article outlines how to determine the appropriate time to switch to express air freight, and how to maintain momentum in your supply chain when sea lanes become congested.
Prolonged delays at a congested port can trigger stockouts, cause you to miss contract deadlines, and raise the risk of product obsolescence before your goods are able to reach the market. Relying on traditional bulk freight may leave your operations vulnerable to these sudden logjams, especially if you're shipping out of a high-volume port like Cát Lái Port in Ho Chi Minh City.
DHL Express's network allows you to bypass slow maritime routes and keep materials flowing, giving you a potential escape route from clogged ocean lanes when port waiting times increase.
While global port congestion has seen some improvement since the pandemic years, this broad trend can hide significant regional variations. According to Kpler's 2025 port congestion analysis, berth waiting times can still stretch to several days during peak periods at major hubs. Furthermore, some European gateways including Antwerp and Rotterdam saw vessel delays of 6 to 10 days during mid-2025 peak conditions alone.
Preparing alternative transport channels ahead of time is what can protect your operations from these compounding costs, wherever the next bottleneck appears.
Marine bottlenecks can create ripple effects through every part of the retail pipeline that depends on a delayed shipment, often showing up as stranded capital, contract penalties, and spoiled goods.
Extended delays at the dock not only stall your inventory but can also trigger mounting daily storage charges from port operators. These fees may accumulate quickly and eat into your product margins, so managing them requires clear planning and a defined exit strategy.
In Vietnam, these processes are overseen by bodies such as the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC). While specific detention windows vary, customs procedures can extend holding times, particularly if documentation is incomplete or goods are flagged for inspection, which means a variety of port and storage fees can build up while shipments are waiting for clearance.
Weather often receives most of the attention, but it is rarely the only factor behind a congested port. Labour disputes, equipment shortages, and capacity constraints at major hubs can back up shipping schedules just as severely, and geopolitical chokepoints can add another layer of unpredictability.
Regional weather hazards can still amplify these existing pressures. Extreme storms and seasonal monsoons might force ports to halt loading operations entirely, and even a short closure at an already-stretched hub can take weeks to clear.
Environmental and labour-related reporting both confirm how frequently these kinds of disruptions can compound. In Vietnam, the annual typhoon season, typically from June to November, poses a significant risk to maritime operations along the country's extensive coastline. These powerful storms can force port closures for safety reasons, leading to immediate backlogs of vessels waiting to berth. This seasonal challenge, combined with periods of high demand, can place considerable strain on port infrastructure. Capacity also tightens significantly during the Tet Nguyen Dan (Tet) holiday period. Widespread factory closures for 10-14 days, preceded by a rush to ship goods out, create a major surge that can compound any existing delays at the ports.
Shifting to air freight can make financial sense when the cost of production downtime or potential contract penalties exceeds the premium price of air transport. Paying a higher shipping rate is often more economical than allowing a factory floor to stand idle, and meeting a seasonal retail launch date can be more critical to your market share than the additional shipping cost.
Clear calculations inside MyDHL+ can give shipping managers transparent pricing to run a rapid cost-benefit assessment. Comparing real-time rates this way supports quick decisions the moment your ocean cargo is delayed.
These are the situations where the premium for air freight often pays for itself:
Financial Scenario | Operational Impact | Strategic Benefit |
|---|---|---|
Emergency Parts | Sourcing broken machinery components | Reduces expensive factory stoppages |
High-Value Launches | Moving premium electronics via air | Helps avoid missing seasonal sales windows |
SLA Penalties | Shipping urgent goods via air | Helps you avoid heavy non-compliance fines |
Fees such as bonded storage charges, which can be 60,000 VND per shipment plus 3,000 VND per kg each day, can erase your product margin fast once you run the numbers.
Congestion has remained a persistent challenge since the pandemic first highlighted its impact, and predicting which port will be affected next is becoming more difficult. Relying solely on congested seaports could expose your business to expensive delays and stockouts that you might be able to plan around instead of absorbing. DHL Express can support that shift with tools like MyDHL+ for real-time rate comparison and high-priority air express options for the shipments that cannot afford to wait.
Open a DHL Express account today to build your air express contingency plan before the next port bottleneck hits.
Port bottlenecks delay raw materials and finished products, which can lead to empty shelves and missed sales. These disruptions may also trigger expensive storage fees and contract penalties from waiting buyers, which is why having alternative options like express shipping is important for protecting your cash flow.
Severe typhoons and the annual monsoon season in Vietnam can shut down port crane operations and loading docks for days. These brief closures can snowball into backlogs that slow shipping lanes for weeks afterwards. Shifting to air cargo paths can help you maintain more predictable delivery times despite this seasonal disruption.
Air express often makes sense when the cost of letting your production lines stand idle is higher than the price of air transit. It is especially useful for high-value items, seasonal launches, and urgent replacement parts. MyDHL+ lets you compare rates and assess that trade-off quickly.
When ports are congested, customs offices such as the GDVC face an overwhelming volume of documents, which can slow down standard clearance processing. DHL Express's team and digital tools help you organise import paperwork and file declarations before arrival, which helps cut the risk of an expensive hold at the border.
DHL Express provides high-priority air express routing that helps you bypass clogged maritime lanes, with time-definite options like DHL Express 9:00 and DHL Express 12:00 built around a set delivery window. You can manage and track these shipments in real time using MyDHL+.
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