Global trade has expanded faster than was anticipated two years ago according to some observers, leading to an easing of the imbalance between supply and demand in the container industry.
That view is, however, tested by a more detailed look at the capacity statistics, which show a much more nuanced situation that could lead to a two-tier container shipping market as manufacturing companies diversify their production sites and the east-west trades become less important in the future.
In addition, Antonella Teodoro, an analyst at MDS Transmodal, has identified a Red Sea fleet paradox that is developing, with an overcapacity in the larger vessels and shortages in the smaller sizes.
Read more in an article from Seatrade Maritime News.