Maersk has warned Brazilian shippers to stop overbooking slots as it is harming exports out of South America’s largest nation.
Many exporters are reserving more space than they need, leaving others unable to find room.
“Exporters are hurting each other when they book space they end up not using, because that increases costs and poses obstacles to other exporters that can’t find space in ships,” Maersk’s director for East Coast South America, Antonio Dominguez, said in a report Maersk has compiled on its Brazilian operations.
Maersk also noted that a large cotton crop was also a factor behind shrinking shipping space.
A number of shipping lines have nixed sailings to Brazil in recent years, while a truckers strike earlier this year has also impacted local supply chains.
Overall Brazilian exports through Maersk fell 6% in the second quarter.
Maersk warned a possible solution for the overbooking problem would be to charge the space when it is reserved, as airline companies do.
