News / Latam forwarders call on carriers to boost capacity so exports can flow

South American forwarders are becoming increasingly concerned about a looming ocean capacity crunch as the region’s manufacturing output increases.

One Brazil-based forwarder told The Loadstar North America’s near-shoring drive was resulting in countries across Latin America winning more final-production jobs, leading to a boost in exports to its northern neighbours.

“Obviously, this is good for the continent, but what we are not seeing is an increase in container capacity by the carriers,” the forwarder said.

“Our company deals with a lot of container volumes; we deal with a lot of finished products, but also soy and corn shipments up to the US. There is real commitment to this trade but we are experiencing a lack of capacity at the moment.”

Such concern, however, has yet to be reflected in the numbers, Container Trade Statistics (CTS)  reported a 2.4% year-on-year upturn in Central and South American flows in August.

And CTS data on imports to the region suggest that, since the start of the year, there has been a marked increase, reflecting claims that China has been building up stocks of loaded containers in Central and South America.

Furthermore, a source at one of the major carriers said that ports across the continent were experiencing “high yard density”.

The forwarder  urged carriers to “get out in front of this” and start adding capacity into the region to ensure its exports continue to flow.

“We need to see the carriers bumping capacity up to ensure we can capitalise on the opportunities that have presented themselves to the region,” stressed the forwarder.