EXTREME weather has become the latest challenge to global supply chains as a heavy typhoon season threatens to further delay goods stuck at busy container ports, reports Bloomberg News.

The disruptions are driving the cost of shipping a 40-foot box from China to the US to record levels above US$10,000.

Shenzhen¡¯s Port of Yantian stopped drop-off services of containers due to a typhoon alert.

Previously, Shanghai's Yangshan mega-terminal facility and nearby ports evacuated ships as Typhoon In-Fa slammed into the coast.

"Each time a port is forced to close, containers continue to pile up, adding to existing delays. And as this season is expected to be heavier than usual for tropical cyclones, we can expect more delays like this," said Zencargo CEO Alex Hersham.

Supply chains have faced bad luck this year, as a Covid crisis outbreak among port staff was to blame for a partial closing of Yantian in May.

Said Wood Mackenzie head of polyesters Salmon Aidan Lee: "The impact of Yantian's closure was unprecedented on the supply chain because it serves one of the world's largest manufacturing bases. If we have a few more typhoons that come our way and knock down production a few days each time, this problem will get worse."