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the current levels this year.
CONTAINER
The container industry has for a long time been in favour of
larger vessels, as they allow liner operators to optimise oper a-
tions and benefit from economies of scale. This has led to a
massive and continuous upscaling in vessel sizes and a market
that constantly struggles to adjust to changing fleet dynamics
and thereby low freight rates. The increases in vessel sizes have
been spurred on by strong demand for seaborne containerised
goods. China’s entry to the WTO in late 2001 marked the begi n-
ning of the significant upturn in container volumes and demand
grew at a tremendous pace in the following years. However,
since the financi al crisis in 2008 demand growth has fallen to
more moderate levels. We question whether it will return to the
levels of the mid -2000s. Still, it seems that the market is con-
tinuing to invest in the future based on assumptions of the past.
Clearly, larger v essels lower the unit cost per moved TEU but
the build-up of overcapacity puts a lid on gross rates. Economics
of scale proves only an asset if the capacity is being utilised su f-
ficiently.