United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Data cited at: "UNCTAD, Report-FREIGHT RATES AND MARITIME TRANSPORT COSTS" The container freight market improved considerably, following a difficult market environment in 2016. Global container demand grew at 6.4 per cent in 2017, taking total volumes to an estimated 148 million TEUs. The strong development in global container shipping demand in 2017 reflects a fundamental improvement in the global economic environment. Demand growth was particularly high in the first three quarters of the year, although it slowed down in the last quarter. UNCTAD projects global containerized trade to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4 per cent in 2018 supported by the positive economic trends. In the product tanker sector, market conditions remained fairly steady at relatively low levels. Supply continued to grow at a rate of 4.2 per cent in 2017. Meanwhile, volumes of refined petroleum products and gas increased by 3.9 per cent, supported by firm intra-Asian products trade and robust growth in Latin American imports. The cumulative effect of supply growth in recent years continued to depress earnings. Product tanker rates, which dropped sharply in 2016, remained at low but stable levels throughout 2017. A one-year time charter on a medium-range 2 tanker fluctuated between $12,500 and $14,500 per day.As a result of poor market conditions, scrapping increased in the tanker sector and contributed about 11.2 million dwt in 2017, which is four times higher than 2016, when only about 2.5 million dwt were demolished. This high level of demolition also continued into 2018. In 2018, tanker trade volumes are projected to increase, although at a slightly slower pace than other market segments. However, oversupply capacity should be effectively managed to improve market balance and freight rates.