Post-Covid demand boom for container shipping coming to an end

Port of Shanghai, China (Photo: Imgur)

 
Drewry's Global Port Throughput Index stood at 141.1 points in April 2022, 1.5% lower than April 2021, although up 1.7% in March 2022.

Year-over-year is seen as a sign of a spike in demand from Q3/Q4 of 2020 as the world came out of the first Covid lockdown. “This is further evidence that the post-Covid demand boom appears to have run its course,” Drewry said.

The post-Covid demand boom and supply chain bottlenecks have impacted and sent container freight rates soaring to record levels.

The largest contributor to this global index - the China region - fell 1% to 150.1 points in April 2022 from a year earlier. "It was held back by poor performance at Shanghai where volumes fell 25% month-on-month due to the imposition of Covid lockdowns," Drewry noted.

The impact of China's Covid lockdown was felt across Asian ports outside of China and throughput fell 4.1% in April 2022 year-over-year.

European port throughput also fell 3% in April 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 due to the impact of higher fuel prices due to the Ukraine crisis on production costs and consumer demand.

The most pronounced increase was in North America, with production in April 2022 up 4.5% year-on-year and Oceania with a slight increase of 0.5%.

Read more:

• FMC announces the results of an investigation into the supply chain of container carriers
• Global supply chain disruption expected through 2022
• When will supply chain disruptions and exorbitant freight rates end?

Source: Phaata.com (According to SeatradeMaritime)

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