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Dry freight container manufacturing is expected to be the second highest year on record, with the second quarter production hitting an all-time high, according to Drewry
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July’s output of dry freight and reefer containers exceeded 850,000 TEU from factories in China
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Manufacturers are already reporting full orderbooks until mid-October
This is the year of the dry freight container.
So says Drewry, which expects dry freight container manufacturing to be the second highest year on record. This will be driven by an all-time high quarterly production in the second quarter of 2024, followed by July’s output of dry freight and reefer containers exceeding 850,000 TEU from factories in China.
Manufacturers are already reporting full orderbooks until mid-October, says Drewry.
There are, however, some red flags.
The provision for containers in numbers and at locations where they are needed has become a challenge due to strong exports from Asia.
Due to the extended voyage caused by the ongoing Red Sea crisis, congestion at the large container transshipment hubs and declining container productivity has become an issue.
Specifically, the availability of 40-foot high cube containers – considered the workhorses of the industry – “has become increasingly tight with more boxes needed to move the same volume of cargo,” according to Drewry in a recent market opinion blog.
From June to July, this year, 1.4 million units were delivered, up from just 125,000 units in the same period last year. This was a tenfold surge, year-on-year.
Production of reefer boxes likewise rose in the second quarter of this year, but in numbers well within the range of the last several quarters.
The tonnage of reefer cargo on routes usually included in the Red Sea dropped by more than five percent, year-on-year, long before the recent supply chain issues.
The same trend was seen in the wider market, with a slight 0.7 percent year-on-year decrease in worldwide reefer trade by sea. This followed the 1.5 percent year-on-year decline in 2022, showing the relative weakness of the sector.
READ: Global pool of shipping containers to rise 2.3% this year– Drewry
