The global IT outage that hit industries across the world today has affected ports and airports across the US, Europe, Africa and more, causing problems for the automotive supply chain globally.

port of gothenburg copy

The port of Gothenburg, Sweden was one of many ports worldwide affected by the IT outage

One of the biggest IT outages ever was reported by Microsoft’s Windows 10 users across the world from around 18:00 Eastern Time July 18 because of a faulty content update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. The company, based in the US, has since said that the problem has been identified and a fix has been deployed, although widespread chaos is still affecting industries, including ports and airports.

Everstream Analytics told Automotive Logistics that operational disruptions have been confirmed at ports across the globe, including the ports of Felixstowe and Dover in the UK, the ports of Los Angeles and Mobile in the US, and Port Elizabeth port in South Africa. Other ports in Europe such as the port of Aarhus, Denmark, the port of Valencia, Spain, the port of Genoa, Italy and the port of Gdansk, Poland are also dealing with operational disruptions.

“While some operators have been able to resume operations following the outages, it remains unclear how long it will take local ocean and air cargo operators to clear the backlog that accumulated due to the technical issues,” an Everstream spokesperson told Automotive Logistics. “Localised increases in port and airport congestion as well as cargo processing delays at these facilities should be anticipated in the coming days as well.”

We will update this story as news continues.

Ports confirmed to be affected, according to Everstream Analytics

  • Port of Gothernburg, Sweden: Operational disruptions confirmed, but operations reported resumed as of 11.20 CET
  • Port of Felixstowe, UK: Operational disruptions confirmed
  • Port of Dover, UK: Operators expect longer wait times due to technical issues
  • Port of Gdansk, Poland: Vessels have been asked to refrain from sending containers to the port
  • Port of Genoa, Italy: Trucks are currently unable to access the port gate
  • Port of Aarhus, Denmark: Container gate-in and gate-out operaitons temporarily suspended, but operations reported resumed as of 11:15 CET
  • Port of Valencia, Spain: Unable to open gate doors at APM terminals
  • Port of Los Angeles, US: APM terminals Pier 400 cancelled parts of the second shift on 18th July, resumption expected on 19th July
  • Port of Mobile, US: Operators warn of operational delays as terminals may need longer to start on 19th July
  • Port Elizabeth port, South Africa: APM terminals have delayed opening on 19th July

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