Manila ports see 2–3 day vessel waits as Asian congestion persists

Vessels are waiting two to three days to berth at both Manila terminals, according to DHL Global Forwarding’s intra-Asia port situation update for Week 44 (October 26 to November 1) of 2026.

At Manila North Harbor (Manila International Container Terminal), four vessels were waiting as of Oct. 28 and yard density was 80% to 85%. At Manila South Harbor, six vessels were waiting.

The update was shared on LinkedIn by Andreas Merikzon, head of LCL (less-than-container-load) for DHL Global Forwarding Indonesia. He said the outlook across major Asia-Pacific gateways “remains challenging” because of port congestion, vessel bunching, capacity constraints and weaker schedule reliability.

Merikzon said LCL sailing schedules remain subject to delay and operational changes. He added that cargo rollovers and port omissions may occur as congestion persists, and that fully booked sailings can affect booking acceptance and planned departures. Longer waiting and connection times may extend overall transit times.

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