World container growth expected to remain sluggish as major US and European ports see declines in container trade

U.S. and European container ports saw a continued decline in Q1 2023 as retail imports continued to remain sluggish total container volume at the top 13 North American ports fell by 20% year-over-year to 12.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Houston was the only one with increased container volume in Q1, up by 3.4% year-over-year due to increased exports. Los Angeles had the biggest decrease, down by 32%. Total West Coast container volume fell by 24% and East Coast volume was down by 18%. While rising interest rates, high inflation and less consumer spending contributed to the drop in container volume, seaport activity levels are normalizing.

Carrier volumes are also sluggish with 4% of the world’s fleet at anchor, over capacity of slots on some routes and a stable average worldwide aggerate container rate of approximately $1,900 USD per forty-foot unit.

Smaller ports, however, appear to be holding their own. For example, Portland Maine continued its growth with an expected 45,000 TEU’s projected for 2023. The Port has seen good steady growth with Eimskip continuing to serve international markets. This was in part to larger sub-Panamax vessel calls. They expect to grow this year but not as much as last year (around 4%-5%). The Port remains optimistic on volume staying consistent due to their direct service from Europe to Newfoundland and Portland including imports of fresh salmon in Iceland and Faroes.

Europe has also seen a general decline in container trade due to similar conditions related to their economy. Throughput is down as a worsening economic situation in Europe and the war in Ukraine continue to wreak havoc on supply chains and logistics.

For example, Hamburg, Europe’s third largest port, saw container throughput post a significant 11.7 percent decline during the first half of the year. The development was attributed to tense economic situation in Europe, especially in Germany, and geopolitical factors that continue to negatively impacting its business. Hamburg joins other top European ports which have also seen drastic plunges in container throughput. During the first half of the year, the port of Rotterdam posted an 8.6 percent decline in container volume - down to 6.7 million TEU - while Antwerp-Bruges handled 6.4 million TEU, a 5.2 percent drop.

World container ports projections remain largely gloomy for the second half of the year and with no significant rebound expected, owing to the persistent challenging economic and geopolitical circumstances.

China continues to be most worldwide port’s top trading partner. However, In the half year of 2023, the cargo volume of Chinese ports was 8188.8 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 8.0%. The container throughput of Chinese ports was 149.2 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 4.8% which was modest compared to former years.