Pessimism in container market recedes as 2019 comes to an end

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November reversed some of the pessimistic sentiment that was emanating from carriers earlier in the year, as rates remained stronger, clinging on to the General Rate Increases (GRIs) introduced at the start of the month to a much greater degree than was previously expected by many market participants.

The reason for this firming in rates is largely split between carriers’ ongoing employment of void sailings in the market, and a slight uptick in demand ahead of an early Chinese New Year, ...