Industry stuck in a vicious cycle

The container shipping industry remains in an extended down cycle, according the Drewry’s  Q1-2014 ‘Container Forecaster’, which highlights that the situation is being accentuated and extended by the constant delivery of new ships.

As a result, the global cascade of ships is now hurting the balance of the north/south trades.

Some of these trade routes have also not lived up to expectations in terms of cargo flows, says the report, while the sharp influx of many new ships of at least 8,000 teu has resulted in significant declines in spot freight rates, particularly on the Asia to East Coast South America trade.