Vessel Bunching: When Too Many Ships Show Up to the Same Party.

The situation

Across Asia’s key export ports, there’s a new problem bubbling under the surface... vessel bunching.

It’s exactly what it sounds like: too many ships arriving too close together, and not enough time or space to handle them efficiently.

When carriers push multiple sailings in the same week, everything downstream feels the squeeze. Ports get clogged. Terminals overflow. Truckers queue for hours. And just when you think your container’s about to move, it’s parked at anchor - waiting its turn.

This isn’t just a “port issue.” It’s a supply chain migraine.

The ripple effect

Vessel bunching has become one of the biggest silent disruptors of 2025. It’s not dramatic like a strike or a storm - it’s death by a thousand micro-delays.

When three vessels land on the same berth window, congestion spikes overnight. Yards hit 90% capacity. Berth waiting times double. Feeder schedules fall apart. Containers miss their connecting vessels. And importers, weeks later, wonder why their stock missed the promo window.

What it means for importers

If you’re managing inbound freight, vessel bunching means your “transit time” is now a moving target.ETA s can swing by days, sometimes weeks, depending on how those vessels stack up at origin.

Here’s how it shows up in your world:

• Containers sitting idle after vessel arrival because of port congestion.

• Delivery windows shrinking, forcing last-minute trucking or storage costs.

• Inventory gaps that leave you firefighting instead of forecasting.

It’s not about a single bad week - it’s about volatility becoming the new normal.

How to stay ahead

Let’s be real - you can’t stop the bunching. But you can outsmart it.

1. Rebuild your buffers: Pad your transit times by 5–10 days on Asian-origin shipments. If your customer is used to a 40-day door-to-door, plan for 45–48. You’ll look like a hero when it lands early instead of a firefighter when it doesn’t.

2. Choose smarter sailings: Not all services are equal. Some carriers are notorious for bunching their loops. Lean on your freight partner for data - look for lines with consistent weekly spacing, not feast-or-famine departures.

3. Plan deliveries backwards: Start from your DC delivery date and work in reverse. Build in congestion, weather, and human error. It’s not pessimism - it’s precision.

4. Communicate early, often, and transparently: If you’re client-facing, your customers don’t care why it’s delayed; they just want answers. The best way to keep trust is to show you’re watching the same indicators they aren’t. Be the calm in the chaos.

The bottom line

Vessel bunching is proof that even when demand softens, supply chains can still break a sweat.

It’s not about how fast your container moves; it’s about how predictably it does.

The winners this season won’t be the ones shouting about low rates; they’ll be the ones delivering consistency when everyone else is stuck at anchor.

Sources: Sea Intelligence, myKN