Spotlight
Reefer fleet growth yet to affect equipment availability
The production of refrigerated( reefer) containers globally is at its highest level in at least a decade, but that hasn’ t been enough to relieve reefer scarcity amid increased maintenance needs, retirement of older equipment, elevated demand on some regional trades and rising market volatility, US market stakeholders say. According to maritime consultancy Drewry, 93,000 TEUs of reefer equipment entered the global market in the first quarter of 2025, a 145 % increase from the same 2024 period.“ On average, over the last 10 years, the industry has produced somewhere between 275,000 to 300,000 TEUs of reefer equipment annually,” said Bob Sappio, CEO of reefer container lessor SeaCube.“ This year, we’ re expecting there to be closer to 350,000 TEUs.” Nearly all reefer containers are produced by three Chinese companies: China International Marine Containers, Dong Fang International Containers and Guangdong FUWA Engineering Group Co. According to Sappio, the lead time for ordering new 40-foot reefer containers has doubled to about four months and costs are going up, with steel tariffs raising the price of any equipment made in the US. Amanda Oren, vice president of industry strategy for grocery at supply chain planning company RELEX, said customers have also seen more equipment disruption due to extreme high temperatures than usual. Total laden reefer volumes in an out of the US rose 7.7 % to 2.9 million TEUs last year, as a 12.1 % jump in imports more than offset a 2.5 % decline in exports compared with 2023, according to PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global. This year, overall growth has slowed to 5.5 %, with reefer imports rising 10.8 % and exports sliding 7.3 % year over year through May. Drewry projects the global reefer market will grow roughly 2 % annually through 2029, according to figures shared during a June webinar. he Image Party / Shutterstock. com heila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock. com
MSC, Yang Ming lead nearly $ 4 billion vessel ordering spree
Three container lines, including Mediterranean Shipping Co.( MSC) and Yang Ming, are spending close to $ 4 billion on a raft of new ships to be built by shipyards in China and South Korea, carriers and shipyards have confirmed. The largest deals, which shipbrokers estimate at more than $ 1.7 billion combined, have been awarded by MSC for six 22,000-TEU, LNG-powered vessels. Four will be built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding( SWS) and two by Hengli Heavy Industry in Dalian, China. The world’ s largest container line has also upsized six LNG-fueled container ships ordered from SWS last year from 19,000 TEUs to 22,000 TEUs, the shipyard said. MSC’ s latest orders at the two shipyards continue the carrier’ s long association with Chinese shipbuilders, including orders for 30 ships in the past year alone, an indication that the carrier is undeterred by hefty planned US port fees on Chinese-built ships. In total, MSC now has a backlog of 135 vessels totaling more than 2.3 million TEUs, according to the latest figures from maritime analyst Alphaliner. Meanwhile, Yang Ming ordered seven 15,000-TEU dual-fuel container ships at a cost of up to $ 1.5 billion from South Korean shipyard Hanwha Ocean as part of its fleet renewal and expansion plan. The latest ships“ will replace aging vessels and advance Yang Ming’ s strategic development” once delivered in 2028 and 2029, the carrier said in a statement July 17. The cost of each ship is between $ 194.8 million and $ 218.7 million, Yang Ming said in a filing to the Taiwan stock exchange. The vessels will serve east-west routes alongside five LNG dual-fuel container ships ordered earlier and due for delivery beginning next year, the carrier said. Yang Ming said the LNG-fueled ships will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 % compared with traditional fuel.
Africa diversions drive sharp rise in ocean emissions
Container traffic diversions around southern Africa to avoid attacks in the Red Sea drove up emissions in early 2025 by nearly one-fifth compared with a year earlier. But while ocean carriers have improved their fuel burning and ship utilization, recent attacks in the Red Sea have killed any hopes of a return to more fuel-efficient transits via the Suez Canal this year. Greenhouse gas emissions( GHG) in the first quarter rose 19.38 % year over year to just under 60 million tons, according to VesselBot, a sustainable supply chain platform. In 2024, emissions jumped 45 % on container trades tied to Europe compared with 2023, according to European Union data.“ In an era with high focus on reductions of carbon emissions, the impact of the Red Sea crisis on specifically container shipping has been an increase in emissions matching the total annual emissions of Cambodia,” Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis, wrote in the firm’ s Sunday Spotlight newsletter.“ The responsibility for this substantial increase in carbon
6 Journal of Commerce | August 4, 2025 www. joc. com