Via gCaptain, February 17:
Some of the world’s largest container-shipping lines are ordering new vessels amid surging demand for ocean-cargo services, giving a long-awaited boost to the outlook for shipyards in Asia.
The number of container ships on order rose by 23 to 201 last week, the biggest weekly gain in two years, according to IHS Markit data compiled by Bloomberg. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., an Israeli company that went public in late January, and Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp. have announced recent purchases or chartering deals.
Before the pandemic, new orders for the ships that carry about 80% of global goods trade struggled to recover from the 2016 bankruptcy of South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping, then one of the top-10 players. That shock disrupted supply chains for weeks but also made it tougher to secure longer-term financing needed to purchase ships that can cost $150 million each and take two years to build.
The global health crisis reversed those fortunes, leading to a surge in online demand for goods that allowed the carriers to charge three to four times higher rates for freight across the Pacific than they could a year ago. The No. 1 company, Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, last week predicted global container demand will increase 3% to 5% this year.
“Clearly the recent rebound in demand and shipping rates has improved financial markets’ sentiment toward the sector,” said Chris Rogers, lead trade analyst for S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Panjiva.
Shipping’s return to favor is also reflected in ZIM’s $217.5 million initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. After falling 23% on their first day of trading Jan. 28, the shares have rallied almost 75%....
....MUCH MORE
