Low demand for container transport remains in the third quarter of 2020

According to the report from marine industry analysts by Sea-Intelligence, the current low level of demand for container transport will remain at the level, which will lead to a significant reduction in capacity in the future.

The IMF recently updated its forecasts for the global economy and revised the expected 3% economic downturn to 4%. This trend will have a significant impact on global shipping. In addition, forecasts of a fall in GDP in the Eurozone are already expected at the level of 10.2% instead of the previously announced 7.5%.

“This is especially important as this situation will affect the demand for the next generation of ultra-large container ships,” said Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence.

In addition, the number of empty shipments increased in the third quarter. At the end of May, their number was at the level of 13, and at the end of June – 82. However, this increase is not uniform in all regions.

In general, the global container shipping market contracted 4.7% in the first quarter of this year. These estimates were provided by the Danish company Maersk. According to the report, the decline is due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected supply chains and consumer demand.