Container prices dropped despite avoiding the Red Sea

The average price for container shipping has dropped by 25% since the end of January, despite avoiding the Red Sea route due to ongoing attacks. This decline is attributed to a significant increase in container shipping capacity, while demand has not risen to the same extent. This was reported by FD.


A container ship navigated through the Suez Canal.

Recent data from research firm Drewry shows that the average container price at the end of last week was $3010. Specifically, on the Shanghai to Rotterdam route, there was an even larger drop of over 35%, with the price for a 40-foot container falling to $3209.

During the coronavirus crisis, shipping companies massively ordered new ships, which are now becoming active. This has led to a surplus of capacity in the container market, as indicated by Maersk, one of the world's largest container shipping companies. Vincent Clerc, CEO of Maersk, even described the current rates as 'unsustainably' low.

Source: FD