Seafreight shipments last
year grew 2.1% – surpassing
the 10-billion ton mark
from 9.8 billion tons the
year before – according
to the Unctad Review of
Maritime Transport 2016.
This, said Unctad, was the
slowest pace of growth in
the industry since 2009
and future growth looks
uncertain.
The best performance
since 2008 came from the
shipping of oil, thanks to
low oil prices, ample supply
and stable demand. But
overall growth was dragged
down by the limited growth
of dry bulk commodity
trade, in particular coal and
iron ore, and by the poor
performance of container
shipping, which carries
about 95% of the world’s
manufactured goods.
Despite this slow growth,
the industry’s carrying
capacity continued to grow,
jumping 3.5% to 1.8 billion
deadweight tons in 2015
and pushing freight rates
down to record lows.
The push for ever larger
ships is at the root of
the industry’s problems,
according to the report.
Dismal seafreight growth
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