Growth in container trade volumes has taken a serious beating in the financial storm, and though operators will try to fill ships with whatever they can (and at almost any price), the potential to earn any substantial amount of money in the next three years looks very slim, according to LRF Research.rnThe enormous growth in the container carrier fleet requires a similar increase in transport demand, but so far this year the overall container trade is growing at a much lower rate than in 2007. Globally, container shipping volumes grew only 7% in the first half of 2008, down from 9% a year ago. As a result, Asia-Europe liftings fell as low as $500/teu for some types of cargo, down from a massive $1,300 last year, and are likely to fall even further.
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