New vessel arrivals in 2011 to hit 1.28-M TEUs in capacity

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Worldwide deliveries of container ships have exceeded 1 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in capacity, with 154 ships received by ocean carriers since the start of 2011 through mid-October, reports Alphaliner.

Over the coming weeks, 0.28 million TEUs are slated for delivery, bringing the expected deliveries for the entire 2011 to 1.28 million TEUs.

The new ships are arriving just as the sector grapples with overcapacity and weak freight demand, the France-based container market consultancy said in its weekly newspaper.

Non-deliveries due to cancellations, deferrals, and slippage are seen to reach some 120,000 TEUs, or just 8.5 percent of the expected deliveries this year, said Alphaliner. They have actually been marginal this year with no impact on deliveries scheduled for 2011, the report said.

The global deliveries have ships of more than 10,000 TEUs representing nearly half of the total. To date, 37 ships of over 10,000 TEUs have been delivered, accounting for 47 percent of the total capacity delivered. All these big vessels have been fielded to the Asia-Europe trades. This route has absorbed 64 percent of this year’s new capacity at 640,000 TEUs.

The larger ships have edged out the smaller ones—ships of 7,000 to 10,000 TEUs—from the Asia-Europe trades to north-south routes, particularly to the Far East-Middle East and Far East-South America loops.

The Latin America trades have reportedly taken in 169,000 TEUs of new vessel capacity this year. The Middle East trade has absorbed 50,000 TEUs, while intra-Asia lanes account for 29,000 TEUs.

Deliveries are forecast to reach 1.4 million TEUs in 2012 and 1.8 million TEUs in 2013, with much of the capacity provided by container ships of more than 7,500-TEU capacities, Alphaliner said.

 

Photo by Ryan Stavely