Shipping, air freight and logistics companies say operations are largely returning to normal after an unprecedented technology outage threatened to wreak havoc across global supply chains. 

Early on July 19, computer systems around the world were brought to a standstill. A faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike caused major disruption to Microsoft’s operating system, affecting sectors from banking and trading to air and rail travel. 

International trade was no exception. UK-based logistics company Woodland Group issued an advisory to customers saying that “a number of shipping lines, customs systems, and transport businesses are impacted by the failure”. 

“Amongst them is the port of Felixstowe, where the processing, collecting and delivering of containers is currently not possible while the Destin8 Port Community System that enables all sections of the maritime industry to facilitate the movement of cargo is also unavailable,” it said. 

Air France KLM Cargo also said the outage was “causing severe disruptions to our worldwide flight and cargo handling operations”, and that flight bookings would be suspended until July 24. 

The issue was identified and fixed quickly, according to CrowdStrike chief executive George Kurtz, who told US broadcaster NBC that work was underway to bring customers back online and there was no possibility a cyber-attack had occurred. 

Several companies involved in maritime trade have since said the issue was short-lived, although disruption to air freight is reportedly taking longer to resolve. 

A Lufthansa Cargo spokesperson confirmed it was “one of the many airlines affected”. 

“Many of Lufthansa Cargo’s global system partners were also confronted with significant disruptions,” they told GTR. “As a result, there may still be individual delays or rebookings in the transport of shipments.” 

However, they added: “The technical disruptions have mostly been resolved and operations at our hubs are returning to normal.” 

Freight forwarder Scan Global Logistics was also not directly affected, but said disruption to air travel would likely cause delays to customers. 

“In a few cases, we have received information that container terminals are also affected by disruptions, but the impact is significantly less than we see on air freight,” a spokesperson told GTR. 

When contacted by GTR, a spokesperson for Maersk said: “We can confirm that Maersk also was affected by the global IT outage. The issues briefly affected some of our operated terminals, but all were back in operation within a few hours.” 

DHL Group said suppliers and business partners in some regions are affected but that the impact was “only very limited”, while Kuehne+Nagel said it was only “indirectly” impacted. DB Schenker said the disruption “currently has no impact on our customers”.