Spot rates still falling but Maersk touts ‘benign’ box shipping outlook
- Shanghai Containerised Freight Index drops 7%; Drewry’s World Container Index falls 3%
- Spot indexes are showing larger declines in Asia-Europe than transpacific trades
- Maersk is now less concerned about overcapacity and sees a path forward for the industry to absorb newbuildings and tonnage freed up by an eventual Red Sea reopening
There are a lot of negatives for container shipping: falling spot rates, looming overcapacity from the Red Sea reopening, a still very sizeable orderbook, and more tariffs. And yet, Maersk executives are sounding more optimistic than they have in the past