Surge in demand fuelled container price jump, says data provider Linerlytica

[SINGAPORE] An analysis of container production showed that the surge in the prices of new shipping steel boxes in the last few years was fuelled by demand, container shipping data provider Linerlytica said.

After the US Department of Justice accused six container manufacturers of colluding to restrict the output of standard dry shipping boxes, sending the prices of these boxes up by 100 per cent in 2021, Linerlytica undertook an analysis of the container manufacturing output over the last 25 years.

The manufacturers who have been accused jointly command 95 per cent of the world’s total output.

Only four of them have been charged: China International Marine Containers, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, Singamas Container and CXIC Group Containers.

The remaining two companies were not named by the US.

Singamas is 41.7 per cent owned by Singapore shipping giant Pacific International Lines, and Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment is a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping Development.

The analysis of container output by Linerlytica has attributed the sharp rise in the prices of the shipping steel box in 2021 to the surge in demand during the pandemic.

The box manufacturers correspondingly ramped up production to a record high of 6.6 million 20-foot-equivalent-units (TEUs) that year.

It added that container output hit about 7.9 million TEUs in 2024, as demand surged following the Red Sea diversions.