12.2 C
Hamburg
Thursday, June 5, 2025
Home News Surging volatility in Asia-Europe vessel capacity

Surging volatility in Asia-Europe vessel capacity

Weekly container vessel capacity departing a region often exhibits significant variability, as vessel capacities can differ even within a single-liner service.

“These weekly fluctuations can be quite drastic, especially during Chinese New Year and Golden Week, which makes seeing the underlying trends quite challenging,” stated Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence.

“Source: Sea-Intelligence.com, Sunday Spotlight, issue 680”

To mitigate these seasonal effects and better understand the true extent of weekly capacity fluctuations, we calculated the standard deviation of the weekly changes in capacity over a rolling 52-week period. For the Asia-North Europe route, this is illustrated in Figure 1.

“We have truncated the y-axis, so the longer-term data does not get dwarfed by the pandemic-induced spike,” noted Murphy.

The data reveals that volatility in vessel capacity on the Asia-North Europe trade has significantly increased over the past decade. Previously, the fluctuation was relatively stable at around 10% before the pandemic, but it has now tripled in magnitude. This suggests that shippers can no longer rely on a consistent level of capacity in the Asia-North Europe trade, emphasizing the need for enhanced contingency planning even when scheduled capacity appears sufficient.

“Source: Sea-Intelligence.com, Sunday Spotlight, issue 680”

In contrast, the Transpacific trades have not experienced fluctuations as severe as those in Asia-North Europe. Specifically, the Asia-North America West Coast route currently exhibits greater stability in the weekly capacity offered to shippers, as shown in Figure 2.

Over 52 weeks from September 2023 to August 2024, the standard deviation of weekly capacity on the Asia-North Europe route is nearly 90,000 TEUs.

Meanwhile, the two Transpacific routes have a standard deviation of around 50,000 TEUs per week, and the Asia-Mediterranean route sees a standard deviation of 34,000 TEUs per week.





Latest Posts

We Asked AI: AI robots handling shipping operations

Artificial intelligence robots are increasingly being used to control and optimize shipping operations across global ports and logistics hubs. These advanced systems manage tasks such...

China’s military posturing affects shipping realignments in Indian Ocean

As China continues its assertive military drills across key Indo-Pacific maritime routes, ripples of geopolitical tension intersect with dramatic shifts in maritime trade logistics. The...

MAN Energy Solutions rebrands as Everllence

MAN Energy Solutions has officially rebranded to Everllence, marking a pivotal step in the company’s strategic evolution. The new global identity underscores its expanding role...

HHLA acquires majority stake in Ukrainian terminal

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has decided to invest in a Ukrainian terminal, acquiring 60% of the shares in Eurobridge Intermodal Terminal LLC...

India vows to emerge as shipbuilding power through external partnerships

India's shipbuilding sector is experiencing a strategic transformation, driven by a convergence of geopolitical motives, national industrial goals, and ambitious maritime visions. Under Prime Minister...
error: Content is protected !!