• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

The container shipping industry has shown a marked backward step, reports the UK’s Port Strategy, quoting Drewery’s latest annual review and outlook for the container market for 2008-09. It has been less than 12 months since the sector was riding high, posting record profits on the Asia-Europe trade routes, but not any more, said Neil Dekker, Editor of Drewery’s Annual Container Market Review and Forecast 2008/09, att ributing the situation to seasaw effect of freight rates dropping and oil prices rising. The problem was further compounded by congestion in developing world ports due to inadequate infrastructure. Generally, with the supply-demand balance weakening, the management of capacity will become crucial for carriers over the short and medium terms, Mr Dekker predicted, adding: “Cascading of ships to smaller trades will be key focus for carriers in the next 18 months and the laying up of tonnage is not out of the question.” However, it was also felt that backhaul shipments from the US to north Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia being robust could well be the saving grace by reduce container imbalances and re-positioning costs.

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line