Let´s use this first month of the year to present you some predictions from experts of Talking Logistics about the shipping industry in 2017:
- More carrier consolidation: According to the logistics blog, the consolidation of shipping lines will continue to grow in 2017. This year, 90% of trans-pacific routes will be managed by the three main alliances: 2M, The Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance. This will also be the case for 96% of the Asia – Europe routes.
- Vessel Scrapping: About one million TEUs will be delivered this year, but scrapping will stay as a trend as well.
- Rate imbalance: After Hanjin’s fall, rates took a jump and decreased slowly. Now experts predict another upturn before the Chinese New Year.
- Bunker prices up: With the rise of oil prices, the expectations are that bunker prices will increase, affecting the rates.