Sudden Surge In Demand For Shipping Containers
Thursday, 4th March 2010
Following months of low global freight volumes, manufacturing output and consumer demand shipping lines have laid many vessels up reducing capacity significantly on many of the major trade routes.
Here in the U.K we are only barely out of recession with the press hinting at a return to negative growth and the chance of a “double dip”. It is therefore hard to believe that things are improving but trade and demand for shipping and in turn containers for sale has picked up in many other regions. In China there are not enough boxes to meet demand and the forwarders are complaining about the lack of capacity from the lines and the huge prices increases of late.
Exports from the U.K have also picked up, prices for recycled materials such as metals, paper and plastics have returned to the levels where export rather than storage in London makes economical sense. The ever falling sterling has also boosted the competiveness of our exports.
Shipping lines now face a dilemma, do they increase capacity by returning container ships to service and cash in of the increased business. In doing so they run the risk of over capacity and an erosion of the rates they have worked so hard to increase