Container shipping lines remain threatened by overcapacity that will peak soon before diminishing later this year as trade volume rises, Paris-based SeaAxis said in its quarterly report on container shipping.
SeaAxis, the marine container leasing unit of Axis Intermodal UK, said a recovering global economy, driven by emerging nations, is expected to push container demand growth more than 10 percent. Overall freight rates are expected to continue to decrease another 10 percent in the next quarter, the report said.
“The highest risks facing the container shipping industry at this time, in order of importance, are: acceleration of redeployment of vessel capacity, increase in fuel costs, increase in container prices, commodity price surge and regional political instability, Philippe Hoehlinger, vice president of SeaAxis, said in the report.
Despite the short-term uncertainties, Hoehlinger added, “the underlying fundamentals for container shipping remain largely favorable in the mid term with the forging of global supply chains, the rise in merchandise trade and the emergence of BRIC countries still creating demand for the future.”
The Journal of Commerce Online
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