Post-Covid shipping blues
Bimco's chief shipping analyst, Niels Rasmussen, reports that the container market experienced a modest growth of 0.2% year-on-year in 2023, reaching 173.8 million teu. Nevertheless, it lagged behind the global trend, as the world’s economy has grown by 10% since 2019.
Container fleet capacity expanded significantly by 21% compared to 2019 and by 8% compared to 2022, with new ship orders expected to increase capacity by nearly 25% in the next four and a half years. Regional trades, contributing a third of global volumes, saw a decline of 3.7% in 2023, mainly impacted by reduced EU-Russia trade due to the Ukraine conflict.
However, north/south and south/south trades showed strong growth, driven by exports from East and Southeast Asia.
Concerns arise regarding the future supply/demand balance, especially in east/west head-haul trades, given that less than 2% growth is forecast for the Europe/Mediterranean and North America regions. (pb)