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Container shipping faces mixed outlook: AlixPartners report
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2018/04/19 15:35:40
THE container shipping industry outlook is "decidedly mixed", according to a report published byAlixPartners. For 2018, 30 per cent of the 1.3 million TEU of new containership capacity scheduled for delivery is for mega ships with a capacity ranging from 18,000 TEU to 25,000 TEU, reported American Shipper. "Although the industry enjoyed modest improvement in 2017, it still needs to address the dual challenges of rising costs and oversupply - driven mostly by fleet expansion - to keep the momentum going," said the consulting firm. "In 2018, we will begin to see the impacts that might result from the industry's reconfiguration into two tiers: the five large global players and about two dozen much smaller players, many of which compete either as specialists or exclusively in niche markets. The giants have absorbed the traditional second tier of midsize carriers. "As controlling power within the industry stabilizes, it becomes more important than ever for carriers to step up their efforts to improve their performance, discipline their investments, and sharpen their strategies for succeeding through scale or specialisation," said the report. The report pointed out that the container shipping industry's financials "showed some improvement in 2017, though they remain at relatively low levels." "Freight rates were stronger in the first half of 2017, but they remained low in a wider historical context. Generally, they've settled back to where they were before the Hanjin bankruptcy in late 2016. "Demand is growing slowly but steadily, and after a brief lull, fleet capacity is once again on the rise. Estimates of growth in fleet capacity for 2018 range anywhere from four per cent to more than five per cent compared with 3.3 per cent in 2017," it said. "Rates will continue to be squeezed as long as supply continues to outpace demand for containerised services. Consequently, total demand - at the very least - will have to meet expectations of a four per cent to five per cent increase to provide any real opportunity for margin growth." |