Box traffic set to hit record levels

Latest figures indicate that it is
going to be a record year for the
container trade.
The initial surge in demand –
as there was a global restocking
after businesses had seriously run
down inventories during the global
economic crisis – has slowed in the
fourth quarter, and the projected
full-year containerised trade growth
is now forecast at 11.5% year-onyear.
But, according to London-based
researchers Clarkson, this would see
box traffic hit 138.4-million TEUs
– the highest annual trade volume
since containerisation began almost
40-years ago.
On the individual trade routes
the predictions are: TransPacific –
20.4-m TEUs (up 10.8% on 2009);
Far East-Europe – 17.3-m (+13.8%);
TransAtlantic – 5.6-m (+12%);
Non mainline East-West – 15.8-m
(+9.7%); North-South – 22.9-m
(+10.6%); Other – 56.4-m.
Container traffic in the past
four years has been recorded as:
131-m TEUs in 2007 (up 11.4%
on 2006); 136-m in 2008 (+4.2%);
124-m in 2009 (-9.0%); and an
estimated 138-m in 2010 (+11.5%).