Boxship layups climb 400% y-o-y: Alphaliner

There are 400% more containerships in the 500 TEU-plus range laid up at the end of July than there were at the end of the July last year, reports Alphaliner, SinoShipNews reports.

At the end of the July this year, there were 216 units, aggregating 467,000 teu against July 2011's end of July tally of 75 ships totalling 115,000 teu, according to the French analysts.

The idle fleet has been gradually rising since the beginning of July, and shows a markedly different pattern from the past two years when the idle fleet only started to increase in August and September.

Carriers are cutting back capacity much earlier due to the weak cargo demand especially in the euro zone areas, with the expected peak season cargo demand failing to materialise, said Alphaliner.