Under normal circumstances, the global shipping industry should maintain a balanced level, that is, the number of containers imported by each country and the number of exports remain the same. But two years ago, there was a situation of "hard to find a box". However, this situation did not last long. Only two years later, that is, in 2023, there was a scene of empty containers piling up in the port. According to industry insiders, the current container size in the world has exceeded 50 million boxes, and the excess ratio exceeds 10%.
The world-renowned platform for statistics on container transactions and leasing shows that in January 2023, the number of vacant containers in China reached a year-on-year peak. The main domestic ports: Tianjin, Shanghai, Ningbo and other places have maintained high indexes, which means that there are not so many goods to be transported. For example, Ningbo Port, in January 2023, completed container throughput of 3.52 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 2.6%; completed cargo throughput of 91.43 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 4.9%.
Major shipping ports must take corresponding measures if they want to alleviate the negative impact brought about by the excess of containers. For example: reduce the number of ships and reduce the burden on yourself; take out excess empty containers to reduce operating pressure; improve your competitiveness and win more orders with high cost performance, etc. Because in the near future, the shipping industry is likely to face a price war.
