The container shipping market could potentially collapse next year as a result of an increase in capacity outstripping demand, say analysts.
Analysts quoted in a report entitled “Container shipping in 2025 – the postponed apocalypse?” in Seatrade Maritime News, say similar trends last year point to an annual growth in capacity of around 10 per cent – even accounting for possible scrapping of vessels – to a global capacity of more than 31.4 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units). Cargos, meanwhile, are only predicted to rise by four per cent.
While market downturns usually follow a spike in capacity, recent events including shipping disruption in the Red Sea and strikes in US and Canadian ports, have postponed any correction so far. Some analysts say that recent growth in cargo is due to shippers moving goods early to avoid potential disruption and this has also kept demand artificially high.
However, major shipping carriers including Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have remained bullish and raised their profit predictions for 2024, notably based on a strong performance in Q3.
