The past 18 months have seen a dramatic spike in prices for shipping containers – up by more than 140% compared to the end of 2016, according to Speedspace director Barron Charsley.
It’s a growing trend around the world, with prices of new and used containers rising. And with the recovery in seaborne trade in the past year – and predictions of further growth and recovery – prices are expected to remain high.
According to Reuters, the tight market for standardised boxes is a result of carriers cutting overcapacity, but also points to a recovery in global trading after years of lacklustre growth. Charsley said locally the increased price had resulted in a reduced appetite from end-user customers to purchase containers.
“As a result of this, Speedspace has seen a significant increase in demand for rental containers both within South Africa, in our international markets including Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, as well as from clients utilising our SOCs for both import and export cargo (mostly to and from Asia),” he said.
“This increased rental demand, coupled with limited supply of expensive pre-owned containers, has seen Speedspace making significant investments in brand new 20-foot containers. These have been dedicated to the rental fleet to ensure we are able to supply our clients with premium quality containers for long- or shortterm, domestic or cross-border leasing.”
CAPTION
A dramatic spike in prices of shipping containers has boosted the rental market.
