The pandemic has brought with it a set of problems including a lack of balance in the production and demand of goods, as countries were implementing lockdown measures at different times. This made it challenging for the shipping companies to manage the capacities and costs.
As we emerge from the pandemic, inventories are rebuilt and the demand for ocean freight capacity has been constantly growing, with economies opening up, at a pace that makes the shipping companies deal with another major challenge in managing the capacities. DP World estimates the current shortfall could be as much as 12%, the equivalent of 5M TEU.
Alphaliner’s real-time ranking is monitoring in real-time the fleet updates. The infographic shows the top 10 world’s largest container shipping companies, as of June 21, 2021, and their order book for increasing the number of ships and containers, to compensate for the increasing demand.
The capacity of the fleet and the number of containers available for ocean transportation on June 21, 2021, have shown an increase since the April 7, 2021 update. In two and a half months, the overall capacity for the three supply chain links Trans-Atlantic, Trans-Pacific, and Feast-Europe has increased by 47,000 TEU. The capacity increase is mostly driven by the Trans-Pacific and Feast-Europe links.
The Italian-Swiss international shipping line, Mediterranean Shipping Company, has placed the largest order for new ships, followed by the Evergreen Line.
In an article published today, June 22, 2021, by The Star, the capacities and rates are being analyzed and some optimization could be more than useful when it comes to the trade-off between the on time delivery vs. the complex and not environment-friendly situation of having containers crossing the world empty. One of the effects is that the European and North American ports have too many containers while there is a shortage in Asia.
This global context has facilitated outstanding financial results for the container liners during the pandemic, and over the first 5 months of 2021. The new orders for container vessels reached a record high and when the capacity will be ready for use, 2 years from now, it is estimated to represent a 6% increase after years of low deliveries.
More infographics can be found here.
