Global container market volumes are increasing and setting records

According to the CTS service, the global container market volumes in February totaled 13.3 million TEUs, which is 12% more than a year earlier and nearly 14% higher than in February of pre-crisis 2019.

In February, the volume of loaded containers set a new record, higher than both 2021 and 2022.

The record high volumes of the container shipping market are mainly driven by the Asian segment. However, we also witness growth in other regional markets: the European imports have recovered to 2022 levels, while exports have already regained half of their 2022/2019 lag.

In February, the CTS rate index remained stable at the January level after a sharp spike at the end of 2023 due to the start of the Red Sea shipping crisis.