China’s ship exports for the first half of the year reached their highest level since the coronavirus pandemic- attributed to supply chain disruptions from the Red Sea crisis as well as global fleet renewals – with container exports reaching a new high since the country’s reopening in late 2022.
China’s container exports were up 155 per cent year-on-year in June, with the value of exports up 85.97 per cent according to customs data.
In the first half of the year, China exported US$6.8 billion in value via container – up 71.67 per cent year-on-year – and the volume of exports also went up 113.16 per cent in the same period.
Another major increase was seen in China’s ship exports. In the first six months of 2024, the country completed vessels with a cumulative 25.02 million deadweight tonnes of cargo capacity, representing 55 per cent of the global total, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said July 16.
The country also took 54.22 million deadweight tonnes of new orders with 171.55 million deadweight tonnes in orders on hand, accounting for a respective 74.7 per cent and 58.9 per cent of the world’s market share.
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US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen
US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen
China’s ship exports reached US$20.7 billion in the first half of the year, an increase of 85.2 per cent year-on-year – the highest level of ship exports over the first half of any year since the start of the pandemic. Container exports, meanwhile, have reached a new peak after a sustained spike in 2021.
Since November 2023, Yemen’s Houthis have attacked and intercepted merchant ships in the Red Sea in response to the war in Gaza, leading to several international shipping giants suspending their routes through the inlet.
Instead, many have opted to use the Cape of Good Hope as a diversion, increasing demand for ships as well as containers for global maritime transport.
“The Red Sea crisis has led to longer journeys and reduced idle capacity,” said Gary Ng, senior economist with Natixis investment bank. “There is also a structural demand for new ships to replace the old fleets and meet new green regulations.”
The strong maritime demand is likely to continue to support robust exports of containers and ships, especially LNG carriers, for the rest of the year, Ng added.
As the average age of the global fleet has reached 13.7 years, a peak of ship renewal and replacement is imminent, according to a report by Soochow Securities in June, and China’s ship makers are expected to continue to benefit from the wave.
Since April, global shipping prices have continued to rise due to supply chain disturbances brought by the Red Sea crisis. China’s container exports have exceeded US$1 billion since April, up 53.9 per cent from a month earlier, according to customs data.
In the first six months, 36.2 per cent of its container exports went to Hong Kong, while 16.2 per cent were bound for the United States.
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, a gauge of container shipping rates compiled by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, has stood above the 3,000-point level since June, following an earlier peak in August 2022.
Spot offers for 40-foot containers departing from China’s Shanghai or Qingdao to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands were generally around US$8,000.
This is about double the price observed in mid-May – and more than five times the cost last November, before the crisis began – according to a July report by the Securities Times, a Chinese state financial outlet.
