MAJOR global shipping companies, including Maersk and Cosco, which enjoyed windfall earnings last year, may face a reversal of fortunes in 2025 due to a potential reopening of the Red Sea route and looming US tariffs, reports Bloomberg News.
Proposed import levies by US president Donald Trump are adding pressure on trade, while a possible long-term ceasefire in the Middle East could restore traffic through the Suez Canal, pushing freight rates lower.
Global liner rates declined 5.9 per cent sequentially in the week ending Feb 27, after dropping below US$3,000 per FEU for the first time since early May, according to World Container Index data.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index has fallen 57 per cent from its peak in July.
"The liner industry is a volatile industry, vulnerable to booms and busts," said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Lee Klaskow.
Shipping companies "probably wouldn't have had a good year without the Red Sea crisis," Mr Klaskow said, estimating that detours through the Cape of Good Hope added 10 to 15 days to voyages.
"There appears to be no organic drivers to help stem the continuing decline in 2025," said Mr Klaskow.
https://www.shippingazette.com/news?news_id=9250300000551
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