East-west capacity falls 15pc in last six months
Available capacity on major east-west trade lanes dropped 15 per cent in the last six months ending February 1, falling from 916,000 to 780,000 TEU, according shipping consultancy AXS-Alphaliner of France.
This represents a loss of 136,000 TEU a week, said the Paris-based agency. The Far East-Europe (FEE) route is the most affected, and the capacity deployed has even fallen under the Far East-North America capacity.
During December and January, several FEE loops with 50,000 TEU of weekly capacity were removed, said Alphaliner.
Capacity grew rapidly in 2007 and the first half of 2008. Weekly capacity stood at 320,000 TEU in May 2007 and increased 30 per cent over the 12 months that followed. It then reached a plateau at 420,000 TEU during June-July 2008, before its steep fall, said the Alphaliner report.
"The euro climbed against the dollar until the summer 2008, giving European buyers a relatively high purchasing power," said the report.
At the same time, Eastern Europe and the Black Sea economies witnessed an unprecedented boom.
"These three factors alone have created an import bubble, which suddenly burst in the second half 2008, as the financial crisis unfurled with the consequences for the world economy that we presently witness," said the report.
This represents a loss of 136,000 TEU a week, said the Paris-based agency. The Far East-Europe (FEE) route is the most affected, and the capacity deployed has even fallen under the Far East-North America capacity.
During December and January, several FEE loops with 50,000 TEU of weekly capacity were removed, said Alphaliner.
Capacity grew rapidly in 2007 and the first half of 2008. Weekly capacity stood at 320,000 TEU in May 2007 and increased 30 per cent over the 12 months that followed. It then reached a plateau at 420,000 TEU during June-July 2008, before its steep fall, said the Alphaliner report.
"The euro climbed against the dollar until the summer 2008, giving European buyers a relatively high purchasing power," said the report.
At the same time, Eastern Europe and the Black Sea economies witnessed an unprecedented boom.
"These three factors alone have created an import bubble, which suddenly burst in the second half 2008, as the financial crisis unfurled with the consequences for the world economy that we presently witness," said the report.