Positive Sentiment Keeps Container Shipping’s Charter Market Afloat

Upbeat demand forecasts and the prospect of a better peak season this year are fueling a rebound in the containership market, with carriers continuing to purchase tonnage as it opens.

According to a recent survey of supply chain professionals on the ContainerxChange logistics platform, 48% of them believe that this year’s peak season will be better than last.

Industry sentiment is gradually turning positive, a moderate rebound in demand is anticipated as retailers begin to deplete their excess stock in the coming months thus triggering the peak season, according to the opinion of Christian Reoloffs, co-founder of ContainerxChange.

In fact, daily charter rates are on the rise on all sizes of containerships, and owners are asking for a minimum 12-month charter period, as well as positioning compensation. As an example, ONE has just accepted a two-year contract for a charter called Brighton built in 2008 with a capacity of 6,350 TEUs for a rate of $32,500 USD per day from May 17; this price is slightly lower than the previous charter Wan Hai Lines (WHL) which paid a fee of $35,000 USD for the same period of time.

Although the market appears to be dominated by MSC and CMA, they continue to be positioned where they left off when the recession hit, bidding for any open tonnage on the market and prepared to pay for any vessel that is open for sale. According to Alphaliner, MSC has acquired 6 ships in the last few days, two of these ships with a capacity of 5,300 TEUs.

The recent acquisitions take MSC’s colossal wave of second-hand container tonnage purchases to over 300 ships since August 2020, while they currently have an operating fleet with a capacity of 4.8 million TEUs.

Due to this giant acquisition of ships and containers by shipping companies, optimism is being generated in the industry for the improvement of economic conditions and availability to transport more goods.

The Loadster (Abril 7, 2023) Positive Sentiment Keeps Container Shipping’s Charter Market Afloat. qCaptain.