The London-based maritime research consultancy Drewry published recently their annual Container Census & Leasing Review and Forecast 2022/23, in which they review the container equipment and leasing market. In the report, Drewry revealed that the market has currently a surplus of containers amounting to almost 6m TEUs. This excess of boxes is mainly attributed to carriers ordering an unprecedented number of containers this year, while not scraping their relatively older fleet. According to Drewry, the global quantity of containers increased to 50m TEUs in the year 2021 alone. Although this rise in the number of containers around the world is a bit alarming, Drewry believes that this surplus is manageable and will be absorbed by the market for several reasons. John Fossey, head of container equipment research at Drewry, commented: “the delivery schedule of new ships is very strong, with slot capacity expected to increase by 3.6m TEU in 2023 and by over 3.9m TEU in 2024.” As a result, it is expected that the market will put the extra number of containers into good use in the next two years. In addition, the report estimated the average of lifts per container in the year 2021 at 18 lifts, compared to 19.2 lifts in 2020. Concerning the prices of newbuilds and second-hand ships, the report noted that the prices are expected to decrease but will not return to the lower prices experienced in 2019. "Looking ahead, ocean carriers will be the main buyers of equipment over the next two years with lessors then taking control again, raising their share of the pool to 54% by 2026," added Fossey. "Moreover, per diem rates and investment cash returns will generally be higher over the forecast period than in the past five years." Sources: Drewry