Lloyd’s List’s weekly showing of the data and figures behind our news, analysis and markets coverage
VESSEL traffic through the Bab el Mandeb Strait has fallen by almost a quarter since the Houthis imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia last month, although transit volumes appear to have stabilised following the initial shock as shipowners adapt to the new operating environment, wrote Lloyd’s List.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows that 269 vessels transited the southern Red Sea chokepoint during the week beginning July 20, down 24% from 354 transits recorded in the week before the blockade was announced.
Preliminary tracking data for July 27 to August 2 recorded 266 transits, suggesting overall traffic has settled at levels last seen in early 2026, before the Strait of Hormuz disruption temporarily boosted Red Sea volumes.
War, disruption and rerouting fail to derail container demand
Global container trade continued to expand in the first half of 2026 despite significant disruption in the Middle East, highlighting the resilience of demand outside the traditional east-west trade lanes, wrote deputy editor Linton Nightingale.
According to UK-based box data provider Container Trades Statistics, global container volumes reached 98.4m teu in the first six months of the year, up 5.2% on the same period in 2025.
Volumes were 9.8% higher than in 2024 and 18% above 2023 levels. This equates to average annual growth of about 6% over the past three years. CTS’s Global Price Index climbed 13 points in June to 108, up 26% year on year and its highest level since September 2024.
China’s shipbuilding dominance rolls on, but delivery may be the next test
China’s shipbuilding industry has further consolidated its dominant position in the global market, capturing more than 80% of new orders by deadweight tonnage in the first half of 2026. But as orderbooks swell across the country’s yards, industry observers warn that the focus is shifting from winning contracts to fulfilling them, reported APAC editor Cichen Shen.
“Orders are just the starting point — ship delivery is where profits are realised,” the China Newbuilding Price Index said in its new report, cautioning that some yards have taken on more orders than their production capacity can absorb.
The CNPI tracks ship prices at domestic yards based on inputs from about 20 broking houses.
Fleet renewal drives ro-ro cargoship orders, but thin orderbook signals continued caution
Orders for new ro-ro cargoships have picked up in 2026 after last year’s historic low, but the sector’s overall orderbook remains thin as high shipyard prices and sluggish growth prospects in core European markets continue to weigh on investment decisions, reported markets editor Rob Willmington.
According to data tracked by Lloyd’s List, firm contracts for six ro-ro cargoships have been placed since the start of the year, with options attached for a further eight vessels. That compares with just three firm vessels throughout 2025, marking the weakest annual ordering activity for the sector since the mid-1990s.
Despite the improvement, owners remain cautious, preferring to preserve capital amid economic uncertainty, elevated ship construction costs and an uncertain outlook for European freight demand.
Tanker boom of 2026, now second-best in history, shows no signs of abating
Geopolitics is the gift that keeps on giving for the tanker market. Crude and product tanker rates remain exceptionally profitable amid ongoing and coinciding threats to vessels in three trading areas: Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea and Black Sea, wrote senior maritime reporter Greg Miller.
This is the fourth quarter in a row that very large crude carrier rates have topped six figures per day — truly rarified air for the tanker trade.
Jon Chappell, transport analyst for Evercore ISI, wrote in a client note in January: “Since the beginning of 1990, VLCC rates have broken through the $100,000 per day threshold 23 separate times.”
