Your Container Is Stuck at Priok. Here Are the Costs You're Bearing Right Now.

Thousands of containers are currently being held up at Tanjung Priok Port, and every day of delay means money lost from the pockets of industrial importers. As of mid-June 2026, Customs authorities recorded that the number of accumulated containers had reached nearly 10,000 units — including automotive components from major companies such as BYD and Wuling that had already received their SPPB (Customs Release Approval) but had yet to be released from the port. This is not merely news — it is a real risk currently facing the national industrial supply chain.

Delay Costs That Are Bigger Than Most Realize

The costs arising from these delays are far greater than many people realize. GINSI (the Indonesian National Importers Association) notes that port demurrage rates can rise by up to 1,000% above the base rate after three days — equivalent to approximately IDR 2.83 million per day for a 20-foot container, and IDR 5.66 million per day for a 40-foot container. This does not yet include detention charges levied separately by the shipping line for as long as their containers remain unreturned. Both costs run simultaneously, and both continue to accumulate every day your container sits idle at the port's first line.

The Impact Is Operational, Not Just Financial

For industrial importers, the impact is not merely a financial matter — it is a matter of keeping production running. Held-up raw materials and components mean production lines stand idle, delivery schedules to customers shift, and working capital requirements balloon as companies must maintain larger buffer stocks to cope with this uncertainty. This is precisely what prompted Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa to visit Tanjung Priok in person in early June, following complaints from business players about disruptions to their raw material supply.

Root Cause: Not Customs Administration

This problem is not caused by slow customs processes. Customs authorities have affirmed that administration is running to standard — the issue lies in what happens after the SPPB is issued, when containers are not promptly evacuated from the port. GINSI has also raised another contributing factor: the SNI certification requirement that came into effect on 20 May 2026, which continues to create difficulties for some importers. Regardless of who is right in that debate, it is the importers who bear the costs every day their containers remain detained.

PLB: A Strategy, Not Just an Emergency Fix

This is where the use of a PLB (Bonded Logistics Center / Pusat Logistik Berikat) becomes a genuinely relevant strategy — not merely an emergency workaround. Once a container is discharged from the vessel, the cargo can be moved directly to a PLB, immediately stripped, and the container returned to the shipping line within the free-time window — bringing detention costs to a near-immediate halt and keeping containers off the already-congested port yard. Import duties, VAT, and luxury goods tax (PPnBM) can also be deferred until the goods actually leave the PLB for use, rather than being paid upfront while goods are still waiting at the port. For industrial importers, this means faster access to raw materials, lighter working capital requirements, and significantly reduced exposure to port congestion.

Anticipate, Don't Wait

A congested port is now a condition to be anticipated — not something to simply wait out. Import volumes continue to grow while port capacity has not fully kept pace, and the situation at Priok this month is a clear example of how that risk translates directly into company operating costs. Importers who already have a PLB strategy in place will be far better positioned to handle situations like this, compared to those who begin looking for solutions only after their containers are already held up and costs are already running.

TCI can help industrial importers design the right bonded logistics strategy to reduce their exposure to risks like these. Contact our team for further discussion.

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