运力配置需平衡

Capacity's Balancing Act

远洋承运人今年和明年新运力大增。

Ocean carriers are taking huge new capacity this year and next,casting a long shadow on rate forecasts.Despite a spate of announced freight rate increases,some believe pricing will plunge this year as carriers pursue market share despite widespread insistence among carriers that they will mitigate new capacity in the market.No one argues carriers will be able to nail down the rate increases they got in the first half of last year,but carriers may try to make up the shortfall through surcharges.Super-post-Panamax ships account for 62 percent of nominal Asia-Europe capacity and 25 percent of capacity between Asia and the U.S.West Coast.Since the first super-post-Panamax ships entered service in 2003,average vessel size on Asia-Europe routes has risen to 7,594 TEUs from 4,816 TEUs.Because of their size,the vessels can be deployed on only a limited number of high-volume routes,led by Asia-Europe,where 8,000-TEU ships already have displaced smaller vessels.