The global shipping backlog is threatening to extend for many more years as renewed lockdowns in China slow trading to a crawl at some of the largest ports in the world.

Shanghai, the largest city in China and the busiest container port in the world, is in full lockdown as authorities face yet another wave of COVID-19. Off the coast, a growing number of cargo ships sit idle waiting to make landfall and unload. Josh Lamb, President, Australian Council of Wool Exporters and Processors said the problem was not just that wool was stuck on ships.

He said the industry had already been dealing with “logistics problems” and thought “some relief” would arrive in 2023 before the latest hiccup.

Paul Zalai, Director, Freight and Trade Alliance and Secretariat, Australian Peak Shippers Association said trade had already been backed up before China locked down.

Australia’s relative size and lack of domestic shipping have put the country directly into the firing line. Zalai said Australia was yet to feel the potential impact. The shipping lines have actually been a winner out of all of this, after years where they were really struggling, they’re really making up for lost time now and reporting multi-billion-dollar profits, he added.

He said as the backlogs grow, companies would have to start making difficult business decisions.