The shipping industry
has witnessed a record delivery of 1 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU)
of container ship capacity in the first four months of 2024, an astounding 80%
gain over the previous record, according to new numbers released by BIMCO. The gain follows a record 2.3 million TEU
delivered in 2023, beating the previous all-time record by 37%.
The figures underline
the rapid expansion of the containership fleet in the post-COVID 19 era, which
has now grown 3.5% since the start of the year on top of last year’s 8.2% fleet
growth.
The surge in
deliveries has led to a decline in the containership sector’s order book, which
now stands at 6.1 million TEU, or 21% of the current fleet size—still about
double its size prior to the COVID pandemic.
BIMCO says delivery volumes for the full year are
projected to exceed 3 million TEU, a 30% jump from last year’s record. In 2025, deliveries are forecasted to fall slightly below
2 million TEU, which would make it the third-highest annual delivery volume
behind 2023 and 2024.
However, BIMCO notes
that these figures are not record-breaking when seen in relation to the fleet
size. In 2024, deliveries are expected
to represent 11% of fleet capacity at the start of the year, a mark most
recently surpassed in 2008 when deliveries constituted 14% of the fleet.
Somewhat ironically,
the record high ship deliveries, once seen as burdensome for the sector, have
actually kept global container trade moving as ships are forced to reroute
around the Cape of Good Hope amid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. According to
BIMCO, the longer voyages require about 10% more capacity than normal.
However, any return of
sailings to the the Red Sea and Suez Canal would quickly lead to a significant
oversupply of ship capacity. BIMCO points out that container volumes only grew
4% between 2019 and 2023, while the fleet grew 21%. Between 2023 and 2025, the
fleet is expected to grow another 15%.
BIMCO’s report comes
as container spot rates have increased after falling steadily during the
post-Chinese New Year slack season. Drewry’s World Container Index jumped 16%
on the week and now sits 81% above where it was a year ago as we head into the
busier summer shipping season