PRESS ROOM

Two articles published recently on the gCaptain website make for interesting reading as they report that global demand for ocean freight container shipping hit an all-time record in May amid soaring spot rates and severe port congestion, according to data released by Xeneta and Container Trades Statistics; whilst US container imports continue to show robust growth over 2023.

In regards to the latter, gCaptain reported that container import volume remained strong in June 2024, with volumes increasing by double-digits compared to the same month last year, according to Descartes Systems Group’s July Global Shipping Report. However, June’s container import volume declined by 2.1% from May 2024, totalling 2,297,979 teu. Despite this month-over-month dip, the year-over-year growth of containerized imports stood at 10.4%.

On the former, gCaptain reported that in May, Xeneta and Container Trades Statistics said that 15.94 million teu were transported by ocean, surpassing the previous record of 15.72 million teu from May 2021. Year-to-date volumes are just under 74 million teu, a 7.5% increase compared to the first five months of 2023.

“More containerized goods are being shipped by ocean than ever before at a time when available capacity is impacted by diversions around Africa due to conflict in the Red Sea and severe port congestion in Asia and Europe,” said Emily Stausbøll, Xeneta Senior Shipping Analyst. “This is a perfect storm of pressure on ocean supply chains which has resulted in the chaos of recent months.”

You can read the full articles here:

https://gcaptain.com/global-demand-for-ocean-container-shipping-hits-all-time-high/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-1e6788dcac-139916333&mc_cid=1e6788dcac&mc_eid=ddba757d70

https://gcaptain.com/u-s-container-imports-continue-to-show-robust-growth-over-2023/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-1e6788dcac-139916333&mc_cid=1e6788dcac&mc_eid=ddba757d70

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