The global shipping industry is constantly evolving, and the COVID-19 pandemic began a marked shift in how container shipping operates. Disruption caused by the pandemic has forced the industry to expand its capacity and reduce costs to remain profitable.
At the peak of the pandemic, containers essentially stopped moving. As manufacturers went into lockdown and closed factories, many of the containers used to ship those manufactured goods were left stranded at ports or storage depots, where they weren’t needed. Simultaneously, freight shippers were reducing the number of vessels in use due to the manufacturing slowdown. This limited global shipping capacity and disrupted the worldwide flow of containers and goods. As a result, some regions were left with an excess of stored containers, while other places were left with no containers at all.
As the pandemic slowed and the global economy began to rebound, labor shortages and congestion at ports have left many of these stored containers stuck where they aren’t needed. Now, instead of a shortage of shipping containers, the industry is dealing with too many. Many container storage depots are turning away new clients due to lack of space, and some shippers are even giving containers away to make room. Blank and cancelled sailings are increasing as well, as shippers decide to skip a port or cancel a trip altogether in order to manage changes in demand and capacity.
Check back here for the latest news and insights on the state of the container shipping industry. You can also visit our maritime news archive to learn more about cargo shipping , or our American Shipper archive for air cargo shipping industry news .
The Georgia Ports Authority said a 16% drop in imports year over year “was fueled in part by reduced orders in retail and manufacturing.”
HMM acknowledged that “freight rates in most key trade lanes have been under downward pressure since H1 2022.”
Ocean carrier Zim will increase the frequency and size of ships used for its e-commerce Baltimore Express service.
Executive Director Mario Cordero said he is optimistic the Port of Long Beach will recapture market share.
Ocean carrier revenues fell sharply in the fourth quarter versus the third and continued sinking in January.
After a bounce in January, containerized imports could drop this month to the lowest level since May 2020.
Ocean carrier Maersk sees a rough second half of the year, when remaining support from contract rates “will disappear.”
The reversion in spot rates is pulling down contract rates, with a significantly delayed effect on ocean carrier earnings.
The 2M partnership between MSC and Maersk — which is breaking up — is the smallest of the three alliances. The Ocean Alliance is much larger.
ONE’s profit dropped by 50% quarter over quarter to $2.76 billion.
