Over the past 12 months, the global container fleet has undertaken a shift in deployment toward Far East-Europe and African trades. According to reporting by The Loadstar, citing Alphaliner data, global fleet capacity increased by 5.7%, with more than half of all new capacity deployed on these routes.

The Far East-Europe trade remains the fastest-growing corridor. As reported by Global Maritime Hub, 36% of newly added global capacity has been absorbed by this route.

In terms of total market share, The Loadstar reported that one out of every four containers are deployed on the Far East to Europe and Mediterranean routes, which has increased by more than 20% from three years ago.

Africa has also emerged as a high-growth region. The Loadstar reported that in terms of overall growth, Africa-related services saw a more than 25% year-over-year increase. The Asia-West Africa trade saw a more than 34% year-over-year increase. Much of this growth is attributed to MSC, which was the first carrier to deploy 24,000 TEU ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) to the African market.

North American-related trades saw minimal capacity added while Trans-Atlantic saw a -1.8% year-over-year decline. Global Maritime Hub’s report noted that Latin America remained an important growth region for liner shipping.

According to The Loadstar, citing Alphaliner’s report, the military conflict in the Middle East has negatively affected container fleet deployment to the Middle East and India, where capacity has declined by -7.6% year-on-year. Global Maritime Hub reported that Alphaliner’s assessment said the shift away from this region may continue to increase as long as carriers remain unable to safely transit the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: The Loadstar, Global Maritime Hub, MSC