Manufacturers are reporting full order books until mid-October, Drewry said in a release.

The provision for containers in numbers and at locations where they are required has become a challenge because of the strong exports from Asia, congestion at large container transhipment hubs and declining container productivity due to the extended voyage caused by the Red Sea crisis, it noted.

In particular, the availability of 40ft high-cube containers, which are the workhorses of the industry, has become increasingly tight with more boxes needed to move the same volume of cargo.

In the first seven months this year, 1.4 million units were delivered, up from just 125,000 units in the same period last year, indicating a ten-fold surge year on year (YoY).

Production of reefer boxes also increased in Q2 2024, but the numbers were still in the range seen over the last several quarters.

The tonnage of reefer cargo on routes that would normally include the Red Sea fell by more than 5 per cent YoY in 2023, well before the start of the recent supply chain issues.

A similar trend was seen in the wider market with a 0.7 per cent YoY decrease in global seaborne reefer trade, following the 1.5-per cent YoY decline in 2022 and signalling the relative weakness of the sector.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)