Depots full of containers and sailings with no cargo signal weak consumer demand: analysts

CONTAINER depots are expected to remain chock-a-block for the first three months of the year, even as retailers kick off their restocking activities following the year-end festive season, according to data from Container xChange. The oversupply of containers, coupled with increased sailings with little to no cargo, suggest consumer demand is weakening significantly.

“There is just not enough depot space to accommodate all the containers. With the further release of container inventory into the market (for example from disposal of leasing fleets), there will be added pressure on depots in the coming months,” said Christian Roeloffs, co-founder and chief executive of Container xChange.

The container trading and leasing platform said in a recent report that the majority of the more than 2,600 industry professionals surveyed expect container depots to be overwhelmed with containers as the demand and supply gap widens due to declining demand.