Global port congestion eased significantly over the past two weeks — the TPFS composite dropped from 38.0 to 29.4, the lowest reading in three cycles. But one port broke the pattern so dramatically it rewrites the outlier column: Guangzhou surged from near-zero delay to 578 hours.
The Global Picture: 29.4 — Broad Easing
The Tradlinx Port Flow Score (TPFS) composite fell to 29.4 out of 100, down from 38.0 — the sharpest two-week drop this year. Global risk remains LOW.
CONGESTED ports fell from 154 to 101 (–51), and BUSY ports dropped from 54 to 36 (–10). LOW-rated ports rose to 850, now covering 68.6% of all monitored ports. The combined BUSY+CONGESTED total is 137 ports, or 11.1% — a nearly 5-percentage-point improvement from the prior period’s 16.0%.
The global average delay held at 7.0 hours. The extreme outlier is Guangzhou at 578 hours (~24.1 days) — a port that was rated LOW just two weeks ago.
Regional Breakdown: Broad Improvement, West Africa the Exception
Almost every major region improved this cycle. The exception is West Africa, which worsened into Elevated territory.
Southeast Asia (TPFS 32.8) dropped sharply from 49.8, with BUSY+CONGESTED share falling from 29% to 17%. Average delays decreased from 11.6 to 10.6 hours. The Manila cluster remains CONGESTED but delays are trending down.
Northern Europe (TPFS 12.6) recovered fully — back to Healthy from 20.9, with BUSY+CONGESTED at just 1%. Wilhelmshaven returned from BUSY to STABLE (–10.4 hours), reversing its spike from last cycle.
West Africa (TPFS 54.7) is now the highest-scoring region at Elevated, up from 44.9. Average delays are 34.1 hours with 40% of ports BUSY or CONGESTED — the only region to worsen this cycle.
Mediterranean (TPFS 30.4) improved from 37.9. Vado Ligure dropped 9.0 hours and Sines moved from CONGESTED to STABLE, though Koper continued to worsen (+20 hours to 55.6 hours).
North America (TPFS 9.4) remains the calmest region globally at 1.4 hours average delay.
Top Congested Ports: Guangzhou’s Sudden Spike Dominates
Guangzhou jumped from LOW to CONGESTED with 578.3 hours of average berth delay — a +575-hour increase in a single cycle. Eleven vessels are waiting with zero at berth. This is the largest single-port spike in recent PCI history and warrants monitoring for whether it’s a structural issue or a short-term disruption.
Casablanca eased slightly to 99.5 hours (from 114.6), still the #2 position with 11 vessels waiting. Down but not resolved.
Koper continued worsening for the third consecutive cycle, adding 20 hours to reach 55.6 hours. Persistent, not spiking — this looks structural.
South Manila improved from 75.7 to 61.8 hours but still has the highest vessel queue among Filipino ports at 26 waiting. Manila and North Manila also eased, though North Manila’s queue grew to 27 vessels.
Where Congestion Is Easing
The improvements this cycle are broad and substantial.
Casablanca dropped 13.8 hours — still CONGESTED but the first meaningful reduction after weeks of 114+ hour delays. Manila shed 12.2 hours. Felixstowe cut 11.6 hours while staying STABLE.
Wilhelmshaven reversed last cycle’s deterioration entirely, dropping from BUSY back to STABLE (–10.4 hours). Sines moved from CONGESTED to STABLE (–5.7 hours) and Gioia Tauro improved from STABLE to LOW (–9.8 hours).
The Northern European and Mediterranean recoveries are the most notable pattern: the ports that spiked in the Apr 6–19 cycle have largely corrected.
Explore the Full Interactive Report
This post covers the highlights. The full report includes an interactive global map, sortable port tables across all 1,239 ports, bottleneck analysis, and berthing delay trends.
View the full Port Congestion Index report →
The PCI report is published biweekly and covers all 1,239 monitored ports with TPFS scores, delay hours, and trend data.
The Tradlinx Port Congestion Index is derived from the Port Congestion API, scored using UNCTAD criteria and queueing theory. Data as of May 6, 2026.
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