The October Golden Week in China, Christmas and the Chinese New Year will bolster the strong demand for container transport for the last quarter of 2021. But port congestion, especially in the United States and Europe, and delays in service should create headwinds for service schedules. Additional chargers and ad hoc port omissions will be implemented to help improve reliability. Factories in southern Vietnam are expected to reopen from early October. Demand for air freight and intercontinental rail across Asia remains strong while demand for trucking in China is expected to rise 10% ahead of the holidays.

This month, Maersk shares the latest market trends before highlighting the issues and challenges we face, and we also explain Maersk’s latest solutions to help you keep freight moving.

Market trend

• The global economy remains robust although the pace of recovery has slowed according to the PMI Global Manufacturing Trends Indicator. The global purchasing managers index reached 52.6 in August.
• Inventory levels in Europe and the United States remain at their lowest levels on record, leading to stockouts on some products. This means that even once retail demand declines, we will see freight volumes remain strong as inventory levels need to be replenished.
• Global container demand growth is expected to be between 6% and 8% in 2021. The high forecast for 2021 reflects the strong first half as well as continued strength in demand in the United States and partly in Europe. Growth in container demand outpaced supply growth in H2 2020 and H1 2021, but the real drivers of high freight rates were port congestion and supply chain bottlenecks. , including the factors below:
  • Capacity in ports: The waiting time for ships has increased, requiring more ships per chain to lift the same volume of cargo. At LA / long beach, the wait time has increased with over 70 ships anchored in mid-September. Closures caused by Covid-19 delayed ships from Asia
  • Storage capacity has been reduced due to port and land congestion
  • Returning empty containers to Asia is a challenge. Maersk has taken many steps to redirect flows to Asia in order to secure supplies of equipment. Despite this, equipment turnaround times continue to increase, due to land and sea delays.

Click here to read the full press release.

For more information:
Baylie zhang
AP Moller – Maersk
Phone. : +86 2123062351
E-mail: [email protected]