Global shipping consultancy Drewry has halved its forecast for container shipping growth for this year to 2.2 per cent on the back of a slowdown in global trade.

That and a swollen order book of large vessel capacity has set the container shipping industry up for another three years of overcapacity, Drewry said.

This year 1.6 million TEU of new capacity is being added to the global cellular fleet, equating to a growth rate of 7.7 per cent.

An extra 1.3 million TEU is to be added in 2016, meaning many trade lanes that are experiencing problems will be further hindered by new deliveries and the continued global cascade.

Drewry’s Global Supply/Demand Index, a measure of the relative balance of ship capacity in which 100 equals equilibrium, dropped to a reading of 91 in 2015, its lowest since 2009, reports American Journal of Transportation.

Spot freight rates across most key trades have declined to historic lows, especially on the Asia to Europe, Asia to east coast of South America and Asia to Middle East trades.

Shipping lines' reliance on the monthly general rate increase (GRI) mechanism and void sailings to adjust capacity are failing to produce results.

“Were it not for the recent fall in bunker prices, shipping lines would be losing money," said director of container shipping research, Neil Dekker.

“They cannot continue to rely on this unexpected gift to maintain profitability," he said.

Some carriers are starting to withdraw capacity with two alliances each removing a single loop in the Asia to North Europe trade and the G6 alliance took out two strings this winter in the transpacific trade.

On the smaller trades, Maersk has removed its smallest service on the Europe-South Asia route. Five carriers have suspended their weekly service of Panamax ships operating between Asia and the east coast of South America, which will lower operational capacity by six per cent.

“How carriers and tramp owners address the overcapacity situation will influence the duration of the crisis. Shipping lines will need to idle a much larger portion of the fleet than they have hitherto been prepared to do," Mr Dekker said.

"Otherwise, short of an unexpected recovery in traffic volumes, container shipping is set for several years of overcapacity and mounting financial losses, he said.