In May 2024 alone 15.94 million teus of record volumes were transported by sea, as against the previous record of 15.72 million teus recorded in May 2021. Xeneta container trade statistics has reported year to date volumes upto May at 74 million teus, an increase of 7.5% over the first 5 months of 2023.
This is a perfect storm as more cargo is moving by ships in spite of the Red Sea crisis, congestion at global ports and scarcity of containers. it is impressive that global shipping networks have been able to transport this enormous volume of containers under such challenging circumstances. TEU-miles have increased by 17.9% globally in 2024 to date compared to the same period in 2023. This is mostly driven by the Red Sea diversions and longer sailing distances around the Cape of Good Hope.
