Container ship orders hits record amid soaring shipping fees

The total volume of new orders for container ships carrying freight has reached a record level ever in history this year. This comes as shipping companies are aggressively placing orders for new container ships as the fee for oceangoing freight hit an all-time high due to a soaring volume of international freight.

According to Clarkson Research, U.K.-based the shipbuilding and shipping market survey agency, on Sunday, the total global volume of new orders for container ships amounted to 15,071,478 million CGTs (Compensated Gross Tonnage) for the first eight months of the year. The volume is the largest ever since the agency started tallying the market in 1996. The volume is about 12 times the total volume of new orders placed during the same period of last year, and exceeds the volume recorded in 2007 (13,217,003 CGTs), the year when the shipbuilding industry enjoyed a boom.

The shipbuilding industry predicts the total annual volume of new shipbuilding orders will also set a new historical record this year as shipping companies are increasing new container ship orders en masse. Exporters and importers are having difficulties finding freight ships as major ports in countries around the world are struggling to deal with surging freight volumes in the wake of economic recovery.


Gun-Huk Lee gun@donga.com