by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor

Figures from Sea Intelligence show that demand for containerised freight grew by 8% in June, even when excluding the impact of the Red Sea Crisis on shipping.

The crisis has pushed up container rates due to rerouting, but it is not the sole driver of growth. This was evident primarily in main shipping routes such as the Transpacific and Asia-North Europe.

However, despite the growth, world trade remains in a significant imbalance, says Sea Intelligence, with more goods flowing from Asia to the US and Europe than from the opposite direction.

Concerns about a capacity crunch from Asia have materialised in the past few months. Data analysts report that less than 1% of the global container fleet was idle at the end of July, the lowest level since early 2022.

Record-breaking demand from China

In June 2024, ocean container shipping demand from China to North America and North Europe reached record highs. 

Importers were driven to secure their supply chains due to disruptions in the Red Sea. 

Specifically, 800,000 TEU were shipped from China to North Europe, according to Xeneta market analytics.

This marked the eighth-highest month on record, following the peak shipping volumes during the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2020 and 2021. 

The conflict in the Red Sea altered the traditional seasonality of ocean supply chains, prompting shippers to import goods earlier in the year.