News
Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) projects that in 2025, global container trade will increase year on year in the 2025 edition of its Research Group’s annual report on container trade and containership deployment.
Global container trade was once estimated to decelerate this year, but in fact, container movements to destinations other than Asia and the U.S. are on the rise.
In the first 10 months through October, containers moved worldwide amounted to 16.26 million TEUs, up 4.4%, making NYK foresee they will break the record set in 2024. China’s trade surplus has increased to a record high of more than $1 trillion, having its exports increase across the board to destinations other than the U.S. In particular, increases were considerable from Asia to Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is necessary to pay close attention to whether such momentum will be maintained in 2026 or not, according to NYK.
In respect to container trade in 2026, NYK has listed global affairs, capacity supply, among others, as key factors. In the U.S., in particular, where midterm elections will be held, the polarization between the rich and the poor is escalating as consumption is expanding among the former but shrining among the latter. The top 10% households and the remaining 90% equally account for individual spending. At a time when low- and middle-income earners’ household finances are deteriorating, reducing consumption, NYK sees that whether or not the U.S. government comes up with policies to curb rising prices and provide financial assistance will have a major impact on container movements. Looking at the current stock levels, some insist on stock replenishment, while others thinks that immediate replenishment is not necessary. Therefore, NYK points out that it is necessary to keep an eye on retail inventory levels after the Winter sales season.
