The global idle box fleet has fallen to a 40-month low because the US west coast congestion crisis has reduced idle tonnage to 200,000 TEU, the lowest since 2011.

Forty ships ranging in size from 4,000 to 10,000 TEU have been drafted into service that would have otherwise been idle, reports Alphaliner.

As of January 26, only 16 ships of above 3,000 TEU were idle, and most of them will be deployed in the next two weeks.

All ships of above 4,000 TEU are expected to be trading by mid-February, marking the first time since 2011 that such vessels are to be fully employed.