A slow start to the year

Container market

The traditional spring market upswing has started relatively late this year and the magnitude of rate increases has been very moderate. From the end of last year to the middle of April, the ConTex declined by about three per cent after increasing by 24 per cent and 35 per cent during the same periods in 2018 and 2017.

The 2,500 teu market has developed into a diverse market with three vessel types: standard, high reefer and modern eco. The basic ships and to, a large degree, the eco vessels are employed in intraregional feeder services, whereas most of the high reefer ships trade between the Americas and Europe, with some also catering to the fruit services between the Caribbean/Central America and the United States. The modern eco ships often provide the required number of reefer plugs, but their more economical engines lack the top speed demanded by many of the pure reefer cargo operators.

The greatest movement in earnings happened in the high reefer category, where rates declined to around US$ 11,000. Standard ships largely remained constant at mid US$ 10,000 levels and the eco types commanded rates of around US$ 14,000.

In a similar way to the other ship sizes, the 1,700 teu segment improved only slightly from US$ mid 7,000 to 8,000. Some extra premiums were achievable for Cuba or reefer trade. Despite the fact that more than 10 standard 1,700 teu ships had fallen into spot positions in Asia in early 2019, only one ship decided to position towards the Caribbean. A further two ships came from the Mediterranean, but overall tonnage balance was not affected as some ships left for cheaper docking options in Europe and Asia.

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