Carriers appetite for new tonnage continues to push charter rates higher. Apart
from raiding the depleted charter market for additional tonnage, carriers have
returned to the newbuilding market in droves with Maersk confirming a 20 ship
order on top of additional charter deals as it tries to narrow the self-created
gap with MSC. The orderbook ratio has rebounded to 27% from 20% in June on the
back of more than 3.8m teu of new capacity that has been ordered in the last 6
months alone.
The contai