Global shipping industry faces empty container crisis: 41% of container transportation volume is empty containers

According to the latest report from Danish shipping consultancy Sea Intelligence, the proportion of empty containers in global container transportation has reached 41%, a significant increase from 31% in 2019, with trade imbalance becoming the core cause. The imbalance of two-way cargo flow between Asia and the United States is particularly prominent, with export volume far exceeding import volume, resulting in the accumulation of empty containers in some ports and a shortage of containers in others, forcing shipping companies to bear high return empty container allocation costs.

Empty container transportation not only occupies ship space and increases loading and unloading costs, but also causes hidden income losses and soaring warehousing costs, causing billions of dollars in losses to the industry every year. At the same time, it increases fuel consumption and carbon emissions, hindering the green transformation of the shipping industry.

In addition, due to fluctuations in tariffs and weak demand from the United States, the global number of flight suspensions in October reached a new high since the outbreak of the pandemic. 138 flights between China and the United States were cancelled (67 from China to the United States and 71 from the United States to China), and the number of flight suspensions from the West Coast of the United States to Southeast Asia increased by 75%. Data shows that US imports from China have been declining for five consecutive months, and exports have been declining for nine consecutive months. Since the beginning of the year, imports and exports have decreased by 27% and 42% year-on-year, respectively, reflecting the deep impact of changes in trade patterns on the shipping industry.