Global logistics giant A.P. Moller Maersk has released its August 2024 Asia Pacific Market Update, with the freight company highlighting a 4.8 per cent year-on-year container shipping demand increase observed between March and May 2024.
The growth is driven by strong import demands into North America, Latin America and Africa from the APAC region.
The ocean freight sector also looks to be coming to terms with the unrest in the Red Sea shipping region and added close to one million TEU in Q2 alone. Maersk says the influx in container supply has been “instrumental” in re-organising networks in the face of continuing crises like what is happening in the Red Sea region.
It predicts Maersk project global container market volume growth in 2024 to be between four and six per cent.
Maersk has also announced schedule changes to its Southern Star services off the back of the worker strike at Fremantle Port.
“As a contingency, Marker will omit certain ports from their itineraries to minimise further schedule impacts,” the company says.
“The company is working with affected customers to provide alternative routing options and will share additional details on the updated Fremantle imports as soon as possible.”
Like the ocean freight market, the air freight market is also experiencing large year-on-year growth, with cited demand and growth from far-east Asia and intra-Asia trade contributing to a 5.8 per cent increase in APAC.
Global air freight capacity also grew by seven per cent year-on-year in June, with cargo load factors increasing to 45.8 in June from 45.4 in May.
Maersk also cited likely increased waiting times in its Ningbo Port operations due to the continued investigation of a recent fire on the YM Mobility, which remains alongside the terminal in one of four available berths, and says the resumption of rail freight and factory operations in Bangladesh following recent political unrest has resulted in increased truck movements.
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