European Lockdowns Have Not Dented Shipping Demand

According to Maersk, high shipping rates are set to continue for at least several weeks despite new Coronavirus lockdowns in Europe. The company attributes the high rates to boosted demand for furniture, exercise equipment and home goods.

Maersk’s normal trade flows have been aided by a surge in demand from shoppers sheltering at home in the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.

Governments across Europe have recently imposed new restrictions to contain a second wave of the Coronavirus which is believed to be more transmissible. Despite these lockdowns, high demand will keep boosting Maersk’s trade flows.

"There are simply not enough containers in the world to cope with the current demand," said Maersk's chief commercial officer, Vincent Clerc. He believes that the current high container demand will continue for a few weeks to come.

Container ships have now been sailing at full load since August. Previous data shows that this has not happened in over a decade.

"We have yet to see whether the new lockdowns will trigger people to buy even more on Amazon and other online channels, or whether demand will be hit by weakening economies," Clerc said.

While global demand dropped sharply in March and April of 2020, consumption rebounded strongly in the second half of the year. Experts believe the easing of lockdowns and the holiday season were major factors in increasing demand.

It is expected that these historically high rates will slowly fall during the first half of 2021.