Global demand for ocean freight container traffic reached record levels recently, even surpassing the sky-high levels that immediately followed the pandemic, according to a recent container trade statistics report.
The report, based on May’s statistics, revealed that 15.94 million TEU’s was shipped globally by ocean freight in the month. This figure topped the previous record of 15.72 million TEU, which was recorded during post-pandemic times.
Asia origin traffic naturally featured high in the report, with Chinese exports also recording a record. China’s output reached 6.2m TEU in May, which is a massive 39% of global ocean freight trade.
Many trade experts had predicted an early peak-season from Asia this year, which may explain why May’s volumes were so high. Traditionally, the peak season doesn’t get started until around July, but the current market conditions seem to have led many importers to order early.
This is particularly evident in the retail sector, where concerns over supply chain disruption later in the year has led to online and high street retailers ordering early for the hectic sales periods of Black Friday and Christmas.
