[The Laylo Lens] What a stranded container is really costing us

Raphael Reyes/Rappler

Government should implement a 100-day plan to enhance container movement reliability, ensure transparency in port charges, and separate regulatory and operational roles to prevent conflicts of interest

AT A GLANCE

• Port delays impact businesses and consumers, leading to increased costs and potential food waste due to spoiled shipments.
• Hapag-Lloyd has suspended new bookings to certain ports until December 31, 2026, due to storage issues, while shipping companies and importers must improve coordination and responsibility for container management.

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A truck may finish delivering goods, but it cannot take another job while carrying the empty container. If the shipping company’s storage yard has no room for the box, the truck and driver are left waiting.

Port delays affect even people who never go near a port. When goods reach factories and stores late, businesses incur costs that can eventually raise the family grocery bill.

Hapag-Lloyd, an international shipping company, has stopped accepting new bookings to Manila, Batangas, and Subic Bay until December 31, 2026, although the date may change. The company says it lacks enough space to store and return containers. The ports remain open; the suspension applies only to Hapag-Lloyd’s new bookings.

On October 5, the Bureau of Customs, which inspects imported goods and collects import taxes, said empty containers were piling up because storage yards had limited space. Ten days later, shipping company CNC sent some empty containers to a different return site in Cagayan de Oro because the usual yards were full.

How the delay reaches the household

Each delay adds another cost. A waiting truck earns less, but its owner must still pay the driver and repay loans. Businesses waiting for imported goods may need to borrow more money to keep operating. Small shops can lose sales when shelves are empty.

Smaller businesses may have little choice but to raise prices to cover these added expenses.

Food is especially at risk when shipments are delayed. On June 21, Customs reported that inspectors at the Manila International Container Port found 26 unclaimed containers of red onions that were already spoiling. Delays in documents, payments, or collection can turn food into waste.

Faster handling must still protect public health. Documents must be complete, inspections timely, food kept cold when required, and owners ready to collect it as soon as authorities approve its release.

Make responsibility clear

Shipping companies must provide return sites for empty containers and arrange for their removal or reuse. When a yard is full, they should direct truckers to another site and state clearly who will pay the added cost. Records of failed return attempts can help resolve billing disputes.

Importers also have a duty to keep cargo moving. On October 11, the Association of International Shipping Lines reported that loaded containers left too long at the Manila International Container Terminal were taking up space. Owners should collect released goods promptly. If an agency is the cause of delay, it should explain why and say when the goods will be released.

Port terminal operators must coordinate operating hours and truck access with storage yards, warehouses, and local governments. Keeping a port open overnight does little if the next facility that must receive the cargo is closed.

Port charges must be transparent. Businesses should know what each fee covers, who collects it, and how to challenge it. Government should also review bills for duplicate charges and fees without a proper basis.

PortCalls reported on October 8 that a proposed joint administrative order — a common set of rules from several government departments — was still awaiting signatures. The government should disclose whether it has been approved. If so, it should promptly publish the rules, their legal basis, their effective dates, and a process for filing and resolving complaints.

Give the public a result it can check

The government should launch a 100-day effort to restore reliable container movement. One department secretary should lead it, with authority to coordinate agencies. Representatives of shipping companies, port operators, truckers, cargo owners, and government agencies should meet daily to resolve specific delays. Weekly public reports should show how often yards reject empty containers, how long trucks wait, how many containers await collection, and how many complaints remain unresolved.

Funding should target the bottlenecks delaying deliveries now. More docking space will not help a truck that cannot return an empty container. Alongside new construction, government and industry must address storage capacity, access roads, working equipment, and reliable schedules.

Government should also review the conflict that arises when the same agency sets port rules and operates ports. In 2018, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies recommended separating these roles. Where one agency still does both jobs, an independent body should review charges and service standards.

The test of recovery is simple: deliveries arrive on time, charges are transparent, businesses receive reliable supplies, and drivers can finish one trip and begin the next.

Filipino families deserve reliable deliveries at fair prices. They should not bear the cost when companies and agencies fail to resolve delays within their control. – Rappler.com

Junie Laylo is a former Philippine ambassador to Israel and the founder of Laylo Research Strategies, a public opinion research firm. This piece on Laylo Lens was previously published on Facebook.