Container operators facing tough times
SHIPPING: In a new analysis, Bimco's chief analyst Peter Sand notes that what traditionally used to be the peak season in container shipping, has turned around to being the contrary and a market recovery is pushed even further into the future.
"The European summer season has not simply become nothing, but rather the reverse. You can almost call it an off-season when you look at volumes falling more than 10 per cent compared to the same period last year", says Peter Sand to the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
According to Peter Sand, the only way forward - like Maersk Line already has shown - is to take a large chunk of capacity out of the market. But companies are reluctant.
"You only take ships out because you absolutely need to. You choose to do it only if it actually reduces costs. So it represents a desperate situation, when you do it. It costs money to have them lying still, but perhaps it's even more expensive to sail half-full", says Sand.
Source: Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten
