Alphaliner has found that container shipping capacity has outpaced demand in the third quarter due to the combined effects of new ship deliveries and a reduction in the idle fleet.
The global shipping analyst revealed that global container port volumes grew at 7.7% in the third quarter after it surveyed 75% of the world’s top 200 container ports based on which had the highest volume growth throughout the year.
But the increase was not enough to stop the total effective capacity growth of carriers from outpacing the growth in demand, which reached 8.1% at the end of September 2017.
In its weekly report for the first half of 2017, Alphaliner found that container throughput around the world grew by an estimated 6.7%.
Lars Jensen, CEO, SeaIntelligence, recently forecasted the industry’s developments as far into the future as 2025 in his 'Liner Shipping in 2025' technical paper
Its latest weekly report stated: “The strong volume recovery in Latin America could lead to a major revamp of Asia- South America services in the coming months.
“New tonnage is expected to be introduced as carriers vie for market share following Maersk’s acquisition of Hamburg Süd.
“Despite the high volume growth rate recorded in the third quarter, carriers have largely failed to capitalize on the improved demand conditions.”
