Container lines need to strike a balance between margins and market share against a backdrop of slower demand and high fleet growth, according to Maritime Strategies International (MSI).
The UK consultancy firm says lines should prepare for challenging conditions in early 2018 and that they will not escape a seasonal downturn in the coming weeks.
“In this context, how liners strike a balance between holding market share and boosting freight earnings — which, post-peak season, will be a harder balance to strike — will determine the near-term course of the charter market,” MSI analyst Daniel Richards wrote in its latest Container Shipping Forecaster.
