The provision for containers in numbers and at locations where they are required has become a challenge because of the strong exports from Asia, congestion at large container transhipment hubs and declining container productivity due to the extended voyage caused by the Red Sea crisis.

In particular, the availability of 40ft high-cube containers, which are the workhorses of the industry, has become increasingly tight with more boxes needed to move the same volume of cargo. In the first seven months of 2024, 1.4 million units were delivered, up from just 125k units in the same period of 2023, indicating a tenfold surge year on year.

Production of reefer boxes also increased in the second quarter, but the numbers were still in the range we have seen over the last several quarters. The tonnage of reefer cargo on routes which would normally include the Red Sea fell by more than 5% YoY in 2023, well before the start of the recent supply chain issues. A similar trend was seen in the wider market with a 0.7% YoY decrease in global seaborne reefer trade, following the 1.5% YoY decline in 2022 and signalling the relative weakness of the sector.

The verdict: 2024 is the year of the dry freight container.