Container Ship 2013 Capacity to Outpace Demand

A.P. Moller-Maersk expects container ship capacity to grow 11% this year, outpacing demand, forcing owners to take corrective measures.

The industry is likely to scrap more vessels, sail them at even slower speeds and idle more ships in order to balance supply with growth, Soren Skou, the chief executive of Maersk Line, told media at a news conference in Singapore, as reported by Fox Business News.

Slow steaming, industry term for slowing down ships to save fuel, will reduce effective industry-wide capacity by 2% 2013.

In 2013, 2% of the global container vessel fleet may be scrapped, and the percentage of ships that are idling may grow at least one percentage point from the current 5% to 6%.

Source: Fox Business News