The globe’s longest-lasting and largest cycle of ship building finally began to slow in 2012, UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2013 reveals, but the effects of overcapacity are still being felt. Shipping rates remained low, threatening firms’ profitability, even as the volume shipped last year increased by 4.3 per cent.
World container port throughput also climbed – by an estimated 3.8 per cent – to 601.8 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in 2012.
The Review summarizes trends in maritime shipping, including recent legal issues and regulatory developments, and features a special chapter on land-locked countries’ access to seaports.
One press release is available describing the contents of the Review in greater detail:
• “Maritime shipping volume rose 4.3 per cent in 2012, report reveals” (UNCTAD/PRESS/PR/2013/051)
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Maritime shipping volume up 4.3% in 2012, report reveals, but industry continues to struggle with low rates, overcapacity
Geneva, Switzerland, 5 December 2013
