News / Asia-Europe container volumes up 17% in two years

© Visoot Uthairam

Despite the continuing sluggishness of most major European economies, the container trade between Asia and Europe has been showing remarkable strength for almost two years.

Speaking at the TOC Europe Container Supply Chain conference in Rotterdam this week, Container Trades Statistics (CTS) chief executive Nigel Pusey told delegates that taken together, the Far East-North Europe and Far East-Mediterranean trades had “seen some massive volume increases”, despite the effects of port congestion in all three regions as well as the Cape of Good Hope routings have had on voyage times.

“Far East-Europe, in the first four months of this year, is 9% up year-on-year, and given that that is off the base of an equivalent increase in 2024 over 2023, we’re seeing a 17% increase in volumes over a two-year period in which the average transit time between Far East Europe has virtually doubled by 60-70%.

“So it’s fascinating that the supply chain has adjusted,” he said

He also noted that the freight rates measured by the CTS price index – which covers prices paid for both spot and contract shipments – had not grown by the same quantum.

“Interestingly, the price index, in terms of where we are compared with this time last year, the average rate across all those industries and all those contracts has only changed a little bit.

“So we are experiencing a very unusual market,” he said, noting that the capacity added to the Asia-Europe trades had largely been absorbed.

And while much of the volume talk in the transpacific trade is dominated by front loading, Mr Pusey believed other factors have been driving the Asia-Europe trades.

“17% growth over a two-year period is very unlikely to be people dragging through an additional amount of cargo for warehousing, because 17% over two years is massive – which is slightly surprising when you look at the European economies,” he said.

However, he added that the Far East-Mediterranean trade in particular had seen a “surprising” number of new carriers enter the market seeking to capitalise on growing volumes and the reluctance of the major deepsea carriers and alliances to return to Suez transits.

“We’re seeing an awful lot of new entrants into Far East Europe trade, particularly in the West Mediterranean.

“We’ve been tracking various lines that can, how should we say, move through Suez and we’re seeing pickup in significant amounts of cargo coming out of India, out of the Far East, into the West Med as a result of the geopolitical position we’re seeing,” he concluded.

On the sidelines of the event, Peter Sundara, head of ocean freight at Australian shipper Visy Logistics, told The Loadstar that capacity on the Asia-Mediterranean trade was particularly tight and expected to see spot rates rise as the market entered its peak season.