Bangkok Flooding Raises Concerns Over Freight Delays

Severe flooding in Bangkok and surrounding areas is continuing to disrupt cargo movements through Thailand, adding further pressure to an Asian container shipping network already experiencing widespread delays and congestion.

Almost 300mm of rain fell across parts of Bangkok within 48 hours, causing widespread flooding and prompting authorities to declare all 50 districts of the capital disaster affected areas.

The disruption has particularly affected road transport and container movements. Flooding and congestion have resulted in longer collection and delivery times, while connections between inland facilities around Bangkok and Laem Chabang Port have also been affected.

At present, we have not identified confirmed reports of Bangkok Port or Laem Chabang Port closing as a result of the flooding. The principal concern for freight movements remains landside access, with containers potentially taking longer to reach or leave terminals.

Floodwaters are beginning to recede in parts of Bangkok, and conditions are expected to improve further provided there is no significant additional rainfall. However, transport disruption remains and businesses with shipments moving through the region should continue to allow for possible delays.

Wider pressure across Asian shipping

The disruption in Thailand comes against a wider backdrop of increasing congestion across Asia’s container shipping network.

Recent analysis from Sea Intelligence estimates that delays are currently absorbing around 3 million TEU of global container shipping capacity, equivalent to approximately 8.5% of the global fleet.

Global schedule reliability also fell below 50% in August, with late vessels arriving an average of approximately 6.8 days behind schedule.

The effects of congestion can extend well beyond the ports where delays initially occur. Vessel bunching, schedule changes, port omissions and displaced equipment can create knock-on disruption across subsequent sailings and connecting services.

Based on recovery patterns following previous periods of major congestion, Sea-Intelligence estimates that it could take approximately seven to ten months for current congestion levels to return to the relatively low levels seen in June 2025.

This does not mean every shipment will experience significant delays for that period. However, it does highlight the continuing pressure across the wider network and the potential for disruption in one location to affect schedules elsewhere.

For businesses moving goods from Asia, allowing additional flexibility within supply chain planning remains sensible while carriers and ports work through the current disruption.

For information on any specific bookings or upcoming shipments involving Thailand, please do not hesitate to contact the Westbound team.