At the start of February, 431 container ships were trading between Asia & Europe, representing a capacity of 6.33 Mteu (22% of the cellular container fleet). During the past 12 months, the Asia-Europe fleet has grown 19%.
While volumes on the headhaul trade (westbound) rose 7.8% in 2023, the 19% capacity increase on the route is obviously due to the addition of the extra ships which are needed to maintain a weekly sailing frequency for all the loops that are diverted via the Cape of Good Hope due to the crisis in the Red Sea.
Not all the extra needed ships are in place however and carriers taking delivery of newbuildings are in a better position to maintain a weekly sailing frequency and also grow their market share.
Source: Alphaliner
