- Containers scheduled for delivery beginning in July
- Investment is in response to equipment shortage
- Total investment in its container fleet to increase to 210,000 TEUs
Hapag-Lloyd has ordered an additional 60,000 twenty foot equivalent units or TEUs of standard containers from China, on the heels of an earlier order it made last month.
The German ocean box carrier noted in a May 26 release how the sharp increase in demand has led to a shortage of containers across the world.
Severe imbalances—such as with exports from Asia, but also owing to congestion in ports and delays in hinterland transports—are causing containers to be tied up in transit for considerably longer periods of time. More boxes are currently needed overall to manage the same transport volume.
The first boxes from the new investment will supplement those currently being produced and are scheduled to be delivered as early as July for integration into the carrier’s existing fleet. The majority will be subsequently delivered in the third quarter.
“Demand continues to be very high, and the supply of container equipment is currently one of our industry’s biggest challenges and demands our full attention. To counteract the container shortage—but, most importantly, to offer our customers a better service—we have repeatedly invested in our container fleet since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.
Last April, the Hamburg-based shipping liner announced orders for a total of around 150,000 TEUs of standard and reefer containers valued at US$550 million to be delivered over the course of 2021. The company had also invested in its container fleet at the beginning of the pandemic.
