Asia-Med trade can expect more capacity

Deployed capacity from Asia to the Mediterranean has increased over the year, and according to Drewry, there is unlikely to be any let up.    Although container volumes on the Asia to Mediterranean trade reached 5.5 million TEUs in 2017, ticking up 4.4 percent from a year earlier, growth had slowed during the fourth quarter as decent performance in the East Mediterranean region was offset by a slump in shipments to the West Mediterranean, according to Drewry.
   Shipments from Asia to the Mediterranean inched up 1 percent year-over-year during the fourth quarter of 2017, with Asian exports to the East Mediterranean rising 5 percent and Asian exports to the West Mediterranean falling 3.4 percent.
   However, carriers have not been shy about introducing more capacity on the trade.
   At the end of February 2017, 260 vessels averaging 10,570 TEUs were deployed on the Asia to Mediterranean trade, with weekly deployed capacity totaling 240,907 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting’s Capacity Report.
   Currently, 284 vessels averaging 11,553 TEUs are deployed on the Asia to Mediterranean trade, with weekly deployed capacity totaling 288,986 TEUs.
   Commenting on the trade’s capacity boom, Drewry said, “There is unlikely to be any let up in the ship upgrading process this year as newbuild deliveries for the Asia-North Europe trade will displace existing tonnage into new territories, with Asia-Med being a leading recipient.”
   In addition, ship newbuilding prices have been rather enticing lately for carriers, with several prominent ocean carriers – Mediterranean Shipping Co., CMA CGM and COSCO – having vessels over 20,000 TEUs on order.
   Looking ahead, Drewry said, “Despite a general softening in the Asia to Mediterranean trade at the end of 2017, we remain confident that this will be one of the better performers in 2018 thanks to improving conditions in major importing countries such as Turkey, the Ukraine and Egypt.”