Anduro’s on-time record endures while the shipping industry slowly catches up
In 2021, Anduro was proud to finish the year with a 99% on-time record. That meant that during the worst worldwide shipping slowdown that had ever been seen outside of wartime, Anduro made its customers’ bags on schedule and shipped them from Honduras to Gulfport Mississippi with only a 1% variance from planned delivery dates.
In an average, non-remarkable year, that kind of performance would have been world-leading. In 2021, as container ships were delayed worldwide, it was a testament to planning that anticipated the worst and delivered the best.
In 2022, we are on track for a similarly spectacular year.
Shipping’s price spike has disappeared
For other companies that depend on container shipping, the overall situation has improved this year
According to a recent report from Reuters:
“The COVID-19 pandemic set off a crisis in global supply chains, which is showing signs of healing. The cost of shipping a container from Asia to the U.S. West Coast just clicked below $2,500, after peaking late last year at over $10,000, according to booking platform Freightos Group, and big backups at U.S. ports have dwindled. Lumber prices are the lowest they have been in over two years, while the cost of steel and aluminum have moderated.”
Container shipping backlogs reduced in 2021
Another gauge of supply chain health – an index compiled by the New York Federal Reserve – showed stress in the global system eased in September 2022 to the lowest level since December 2020. The regional bank’s Global Supply Pressure Index tracks data on shipping costs, delivery times, backlogs and other statistics into a single measure compared to historic norms. The September report marked the fifth straight month of declines in the index.
Meanwhile, while costs for shipping are dropping rapidly, clogged ports are slower to improve.
Anduro clients never saw shipping delays
West coast delays continue, notes Decartes Systems Group an industry analyst.
“This is the first month that U.S. container import volumes are seeing the effects of market headwinds, but we haven’t yet seen a similar reduction in port waiting times, which would help improve global supply chain performance,” said Chris Jones, EVP Industry & Services at Descartes. “The decline in Chinese imports was the greatest driver of the overall decrease in U.S. imports and was felt the most on West Coast ports as most East and Gulf Ports continued operating at higher overall volumes.”
All containers from Anduro travel straight from Honduras to the United States Gulf Coast, where we transfer finished bags to our warehouse or trains and trucks.