Container shortage pushes up prices

The severe shortage of containers over the past year has seen container prices reach an all-time high, according to Warren Jacobs, sales manager of Almar Container Group. “And this is true for both new and used containers,” said Jacobs. “High utilisation, leading to severe global shortages, has seen pricing of second hand equipment closing in on the price of building new containers.” So much so that in the last quarter it has become more advantageous to buy new containers. “It is for this reason that Almar is investing in new containers.” The company has always had leasing and trading of containers as its core business. With offices in South Africa, Dubai, India and Brazil, Almar is able to provide a full range of flexible international and domestic container sale and lease solutions across a wide range of equipment, said Jacobs. “Containers are and will always be a critical cog in the freight industry. The sale and modification of them will also continue to play a vital role in meeting the requirements of the growing number of domestic and project-related container requirements,” said Jacobs. Fluctuating world trade conditions have a major impact on container prices and the forecast slow-down now being experienced is likely to result in the stability of prices and even a small decline. “Forecasting the changes is difficult, but reacting and adapting to the changes quickly becomes critical, and often these changes open up windows of opportunity,” he told FTW. Over the years Almar’s container product offering has grown to meet the needs of its customers and Almar now offers a diverse range of containerised products for mining, exploration, oil extraction, natural gas projects as well as various domestic applications.