by Lloyd's List

8 January 2025 (Lloyd's List) - THE orderbook for containership newbuildings has reached an all-time record following the contracting of the second-highest volume of new ships during 2024.

“At the end of 2024, the containership orderbook was 8.3m teu, a new record compared with the previous high of 7.8m teu in early 2023,” said Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO.

A combined 4.4m teu of boxship capacity was ordered in 2024, second only to the record 4.5m teu of slot capacity contracted during 2021, according to Clarksons data.  

The orderbook represents almost 27% of the combined 31m teu capacity of the existing fleet in service.    

Rasmussen said the orderbook today reached its highest-ever level on record despite the delivery of 2.9m teu of fleet capacity during 2024.

Some 92% of orderbook capacity is provided by vessels of 8,000 teu and above with the largest segment being for neo-panamax units of between 12,000 teu and 17,000 teu. This segment makes up 46% of orderbook capacity, according to Rasmussen’s analysis.

“Shipyards in China have benefited the most from the past four years’ contracting boom and hold 72% of the orderbook’s 8.3m teu, while South Korean and Japanese shipyards hold 22% and 5% respectively,” ssid the analyst who added that container line operators control 79% of orderbook capacity, significantly higher than the 61% that they control of the existing fleet.

“Having already increased from 56% at the beginning of 2019, liner operators’ share of fleet capacity is therefore set to continue growing in the coming years,” argues Rasmussen.

Further containership orders are understood to be in the pipeline.

Taiwan-based Yang Ming disclosed in December it had imminent plans to order 13 containerships in the 8,000 teu and 13,000 teu segments to replace its oldest vessels. 

An average of 1.9m teu of newbuilding capacity is set to be delivered each year between 2025-2028 with deliveries expected to peak in 2027, when some 2.2m teu will enter service.