IN Brief:
- The Bureau of Customs has ordered the immediate pullout of more than 7,000 paid containers from Manila ports.
- The order covers 6,931 containers at the Port of Manila and 78 long-dwelling containers at Manila International Container Port.
- The move is part of wider decongestion measures targeting yard capacity, cargo flow, and terminal utilisation.
The Bureau of Customs has ordered the immediate withdrawal of more than 7,000 containers from Manila ports after identifying cargo that had already been paid for but remained inside terminal yards.
The order covers containers at the Port of Manila and Manila International Container Port, where customs authorities are seeking to release yard capacity and prevent cleared cargo from continuing to occupy operational space. At the Port of Manila, consignees were instructed to claim 6,931 containers with BOC Online Release System payment dates between 2 and 30 June 2026. A separate final notice from Manila International Container Port identified 78 containers that had been in the yard for more than 30 days, including units with arrival dates stretching back into 2025.
Under Customs Administrative Order No. 17-2019, imported goods that remain unclaimed 30 calendar days after payment of assessed duties, taxes, fees, interest, and other charges may be deemed abandoned unless covered by an alert order. The latest notices therefore move delayed collection from routine follow-up into a direct compliance and cargo recovery issue.
Among the larger groups of containers listed at the Port of Manila were shipments linked to House Technology Industries, Union Galvasteel, Primeeight Consumer Goods Trading, Altas Industrial Companias Amicales, Arnn Rose Furniture Trading, Brighter Hardware and Construction, and Chain Glass Enterprises. The long-dwelling list at Manila International Container Port included containers linked to The Purefoods Hormel Company and the Department of Transportation.
The intervention follows a June memorandum ordering immediate measures to decongest Manila international terminals, including the transfer of overstaying laden containers, faster shipment assessment and processing, and the deployment of sweeper vessels. Customs authorities tied those measures to high yard utilisation at Manila International Container Terminal and Manila South Harbor, where congestion reduces terminal capacity and slows the movement of newly arriving cargo through the gateway.
Container dwell becomes especially damaging once cargo has cleared the customs payment stage. A container that remains in the yard after release still occupies space, ties up equipment, and adds uncertainty for brokers, hauliers, warehouse operators, production sites, and importers waiting to turn inventory into usable stock. High dwell also makes it harder for terminals to absorb vessel calls because yard capacity is consumed by boxes that should already be moving inland.
Manila’s international gateways have been under recurring capacity pressure since late 2025, when yard utilisation at key terminals moved above comfortable operating levels. Conditions improved earlier this year, before higher readings returned in late April and added fresh strain to import flows. Wider regional freight disruption has already forced more route and inventory discipline across Asia-Pacific supply chains, with recent analysis of Asia-Pacific freight disruption showing how fragile timing can become when capacity, port performance, and inland execution no longer align.
The Manila notices also expose the narrow gap between documentation, cargo release, and physical movement. A shipment can be technically cleared yet operationally stuck if the consignee, broker, carrier, haulier, bank, warehouse, or final receiving site is not ready. Ports are not designed to act as long-term storage yards for cargo that has already passed payment and release stages.
Container status management now has to run beyond arrival alerts and customs payment. Payment dates, terminal notices, haulier availability, demurrage exposure, free time, yard conditions, receiving capacity, and abandoned-goods risk all sit in the same operating file. Weak follow-through after payment can turn a cleared shipment into a compliance problem, a port capacity issue, and a production planning constraint.
Decongestion measures are likely to remain active while import volumes, vessel schedules, and inland transport continue to test Manila’s gateway capacity. The immediate pullout order gives consignees a clear warning that customs release is no longer the end of the process. A container is not truly released until it has left the terminal.
