Another month, another record for loaded container shipments worldwide, according to the latest release by Container Trades Statistics Limited (CTS) for the month of August 2025.
CTS’ data shows that a record 16.6 mteu was shipped in the month, beating the previous high set in May of this year, by the small matter of 13 kteu.
Setting new records isn’t really all that impressive though, as it is what should happen when the world’s population and economy grows.
The underlying truth is that momentum in container shipping is slowing rapidly, although there are remarkably different trajectories by region.
Loaded shipments worldwide improved by just 0.2% MoM in August, and the YoY gain of 2.8% was the second lowest this year (behind February’s 1.0% increase) – see charts.
The rolling 12-month average was down to 4.7% YoY, which compares very unfavourably to the 7.8% increase witnessed in August 2024. The moving average growth has now been receding for six consecutive months.
As mentioned, there is significant variation in the growth paths of different regions. The high-low spread for YTD growth between CTS-defined regions ranges from 7.5% for South Asia/Middle East to -1.2% for North America.
Breaking things down further, examination of the regional performances for container imports and exports on a rolling 12-month basis shows how wide the variance is. In August 2024 the moving average for North America imports was riding high at nearly 14% YoY, but by the same month in 2025 the region was tracking at just 2.3% YoY with a near-linear drop-off. In contrast, Sub Saharan imports have been on a fast-moving escalator up since around March, now showing a moving average growth of 12%.
There is more uniformity regarding exports. Most regions are trending down, with only South Asia/MidE and Sub Saharan Africa bucking the trend.
Wide variation in growth patterns by region sets the stage for a lot of liner network redeployment as carriers gravitate towards the hot markets.
Source: Simon Heaney, Drewry
