Rates to the Med have finally dropped below that to North Europe after
maintaining a healthy premium for the past 2 years.
The closing of the rate gap has more to do with supply side drivers rather than
a drop in demand as vessel capacity to the Med has increased faster than that to
North Europe, causing rates to be eroded as the supply-demand balance tilts back
in favour of the shippers. Effective capacity to the Med has increased by 6.9%
compared to last year, while effective capacity to Nor