Warning Issued for Post-LNY Port Bottlenecks

The 2026 Lunar New Year, which fell on February 17, deviated from historical patterns; the typical pre-holiday cargo surge from Asia was unusually subdued. Analysts suggest many importers shipped goods months earlier to hedge against geopolitical uncertainty, leaving carriers with surprisingly open capacity leading into the February factory shutdowns. Following the holiday, major Chinese ports like Shanghai and Ningbo reported an easing of initial congestion by late February, with average vessel waiting times hovering around 2-3 days. However, ocean carriers are expected to aggressively manage capacity by increasing "blank sailings," or canceled voyages, to stabilize freight rates, creating a risk of shipment delays for post-holiday bookings. This disruption is compounded for Caribbean importers who rely on transshipment services from Asian cargo. Goods are often routed through major hubs like Kingston, Jamaica, before being transferred to smaller vessels for inter-island distribution, adding another potential chokepoint to the supply chain. For hotel and resort operators in the Caribbean, these delays highlight the growing need for supply chain resilience. Recent global disruptions have pushed hospitality procurement managers to increase on-hand inventory buffers from an average of 10 days to as long as 30 days for critical supplies to mitigate the impact of shipping unpredictability. In response, large hotel groups are moving away from single-source suppliers and adopting multi-property inventory management systems. These platforms provide centralized visibility of stock levels across different resort locations, allowing for strategic bulk ordering and the ability to shift resources between properties to cover shortages during periods of high occupancy or logistical strain.