Chinese freight carriers fear further price declines when new container ships take to the seas next year
- Shipping rates are likely to fall next year when freight operators take delivery of new vessels, say carriers at a major trade fair in Shanghai
- Freight rates have plunged by as much as 90 per cent in the last year from unprecedented highs when the pandemic disrupted supply
More than 200 new ships are due to be delivered to freight operators in each of the next two years. Vessels with a total capacity of 2.34 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) will be delivered in 2023, and another 2.83 million TEUs will be added in 2024.
That compares with 1.1 million TEUs this year.
“The shipping industry is wary of a further drop [in shipping rates],” said Kevin Gao, senior sales manager with Hapag-Lloyd (China) Shipping, an exhibitor at the China International Import Expo (CIIE). “Delivery of new vessels will probably exacerbate an overcapacity issue.”
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