17.03.21Global Box Trade Expanding despite Fall in Freight Index

Container Trades Statistics Ltd. (CTS) of the U.K. recently unveiled that a total of 13.451 million TEUs of containers were traded worldwide in January, which increased 9.5% from a year earlier. Global container throughput remained on an upward trend, exceeding the 13-million-TEU mark for four months in a row, or since October last year.

In contrast, the global freight rate index (the average in 2008=100 points) fell by two points from a month earlier to 65 points in January. The average container freight rate returned to a recovery track in the fall of 2016, but the issue of excess tonnage was not yet resolved at all. Now, it is very important to adjust tonnage supply to pick up market conditions and improve shipping lines’ business performances.