Despite lower volumes being fixed in the spot market, it is key to tracking developments in the container shipping market, as it quickly responds to the changing situation and adjustments to demand and supply.
Retail sales are a key driver of European container imports. In early 2020 and early 2021, retail sales volumes in the EU and the UK suffered setbacks due to COVID restrictions but recently, high inflation and historically low consumer confidence have been the main concerns.
Spot rates for shipping of containers out of Shanghai bound for Europe have now slipped below the USD 1,000 per TEU–mark for the first time since March 2009. Following yet another weekly drop in freight rates on this main trading lane, boxes are now being shipped off at USD 992 per TEU, USD 27 per TEU lower than last week.
The demand for container shipping is stalling at the moment. Indicators for growth in the first months of 2016 point to limited overall demand and huge variations from trade to trade.
So far this year, container volumes have fallen nearly 2% year-on-year while average freight rates have declined, reaching 2019 levels in September. Since then, they have continued to fall. However, the cost to charter a ship remains 25% higher than in 2019.
Total orders of dry bulk, tanker and container ships in the first five months of the year have jumped 119.7% compared with the same period in 2020, primarily driven by record high container ship contracting, as investors in this segment find themselves flush with cash.
Deliveries of new container ships during the first seven months of the year reached a new record high of 1.2 million TEU in 2023, beating the previous record by 0.2 million TEU. As recycling of ships has remained low, the fleet capacity has grown 4.3% since January.