While there was a shortage of containers at the height of the pandemic, the global economy is now facing the opposite problem: too many containers.
Traders and shippers say the decline in global consumer demand is not a sign the global economy is normalizing after a frantic post-lockdown consumption rush but a downward shift in consumption appetites.
Blank or canceled sailings are also on the rise in what is usually the opposite, as the year’s biggest spending period approaches.
While there was a shortage of containers at the height of the pandemic, the global economy is now facing the opposite problem: too many containers.
On top of falling freight rates, data shows container depots — used to house containers after they are unloaded — are now filling up or full.
It points to more signs of falling global demand and an impending economic slowdown.
Traders and shippers say the decline in global consumer demand is not a sign the global economy is normalizing after a frantic post-lockdown consumption rush but a downwards shift in consumption appetites.
What has happened now is that the cargo is ‘on time’ again and hence you’ll see a slowdown in new ordering.
News source: CNBC
