Container shipping lines allocated almost 250,000 TEUs more of their new capacity to the Asia-Europe container trade than the Asia-US trade. 

This number reflects the challenges posed by Red Sea diversions and capacity constraints at North American ports due to larger ships entering the global fleet. 

According to the Journal of Commerce, shipping lines took delivery of 257 container vessels with a total capacity of 1.65 million TEUs. Of these, 41 ships with an overall capacity of 641,770 TEUs serve Asian and Indian subcontinent ports en route to Northern European and Mediterranean destinations. At the same time, the Asia-US trade lane has seen 42 ships with a total capacity of 390,696 TEUs. 

Smaller carriers like HMM and Zim have deployed new large ships to the North American trade, whereas major alliance carriers have focused their larger vessels on the Asia-European routes.  

In the Asia-US trade lane, key players such as HMM and Evergreen have increased their capacity by deploying large container ships.  

HMM leads with seven new 13,700-TEU vessels and plans to add five more in the latter half of the year. Evergreen, Zim and Wan Hai Lines have also contributed to this growth with their deployments.  

Journal of Commerce states that this strategic increase in capacity reflects the industry's response to growing demand and the continuous evolution of global trade dynamics. 

Reports from Drewry and Alphaliner confirm the data, indicating a significant increase in Asia-Northern Europe capacity due to new builds, which compensate for longer transit times around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.  

Ocean carriers have increased their capacity in the Asia-Northern Europe trade by 24%, while capacity on the Asia-US East Coast increased by 9%. 

The shipping industry is witnessing significant expansion with MSC leading in the Asia-Europe trade by deploying 14 new ships, each with a capacity of around 16,000 TEUs.  

Maersk and ONE are also enhancing their fleets for this trade lane. In the Asia-US trade lane, CMA CGM has introduced the most capacity with nine post-Panamax vessels.  

At the same time, HMM tops the list for overall capacity added with its seven new super-post-Panamax ships. Zim follows closely, having added considerable capacity with a combination of super-post-Panamax and post-Panamax vessels.