Container market crash on the horizon?

摘要

With charter rates falling steadily over the past three months, shipyards are increasingly worried about the lack of new container orders. Newbuilding brokers are saying demand has collapsed, which is a major concern for many yards that have relied on the booming container sector for the past couple of years. The three largest shipbuilders in the world - Hyundai, Daewoo and Samsung - could suffer in particular, although those in Japan and Taiwan will feel the pain too because they are the top builders of post-Panamax and Panamax container ships. But many industry insiders tell Fairplay that they are surprised that the boom has lasted this long. Anyone still keen to pump money into new tonnage is "bloody crazy" according to one source.'