The international maritime market is currently facing multiple changes and challenges:

The international maritime market is currently facing multiple changes and challenges:

1. Demand and freight trends:
Weak global economic performance has dampened demand for maritime transport. Consumption growth in the United States and Europe has been slow, and purchasing managers’ indices have pointed to a contraction in manufacturing activity. This has caused shipping companies to face inventory overhang problems, making freight rates are likely to decline in the coming months.

2. Market fluctuations and capacity changes:
Despite the growth in global port throughput, there is still excess capacity in some regions, especially on Asia-Europe routes. Capacity adjustments and slower rate increases on some routes, such as a slight increase on transatlantic routes, but weakness on Asia-Europe routes, especially on the West Coast of the United States.

3. Geopolitics and strike impact:
Geopolitical events and port strikes also hit the market. For example, recent labor negotiations at US East Coast ports have created uncertainty, while strikes at Indian ports have increased logistics risks. These events have led to adjustments in freight rates and prompted some companies to bring forward imports to hedge against future risks.

4. Long-term trend outlook:
Looking ahead to 2024, companies are expected to continue implementing the “China +1” strategy of diversifying their supply chains to reduce their dependence on a single country. The market is also seeing more blank voyages (ships cancelling planned voyages) in response to weak demand, while the imbalance in container supply remains one of the main issues.

Overall, the future of the maritime market is more uncertain and carriers will maintain freight rates by controlling capacity, but the weakness of the overall market demand will continue to pressure the profitability of the maritime industry.