THE latest statistics from industry analyst Container Trade Statistics (CTS) show that global transport volumes of containerised cargo grew 5
THE latest statistics from industry analyst Container Trade Statistics (CTS) show that global transport volumes of containerised cargo grew 5.9 per cent to 13.85 million TEU in April compared with the same month a year ago, on the back of strong growth in imports and exports across Asia, Europe and North America. On a sequential basis, total volumes were down 1.3 per cent from March, but this is generally to be expected based on historical seasonality, reports American Shipper.
Containerised exports from Far East Asia increased 4.6 per cent year over year to 7.6 million TEU for the month, while import volumes climbed 4.8 per cent to 5.2 million TEU.
In North America, container export volumes surged 11.1 per cent to 1.4 million TEU, and imports jumped 7.1 per cent to 2.3 million TEU compared with April 2017.
European exports increased 5.1 per cent to 2.5 million TEU, while import volumes rose 6.2 per cent to 2.8 million TEU.
Through the first four months of 2018, total international volumes have grown 4.7 per cent to 54.24 million TEU compared with the same 2017 period, according to CTS.
The increase in international trade volumes is welcome news for ocean carriers, which have seen container freight rates falter throughout the early portion of 2018, leading to some disappointing financial results.
Leading carriers Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, as well as smaller players like Yang Ming and ZIM, have all reported losses for first-quarter 2018, leading analysts to speculate as to whether the industry's return to profitability last year might have been a short-term bounce.
