The Asia-Europe Container Shipping Outlook: A TPM27 Webcast

Fears are increasing that rising inflation across Europe driven by the war in Iran, and worsening economic indicators for the region, will dampen consumer demand, impacting containerized imports through the summer-fall peak season and beyond. The International Monetary Fund recently slashed the eurozone GDP growth forecast for 2026 from 1.4% to 1.1% as soaring energy prices erode economic prospects. The high price of fuel is heavily impacting ocean carriers whose response will have a significant impact on cargo owners this year. Container lines are warning of looming bunker shortages in some refueling ports and that schedules and port calls may need to change with little notice as carriers adjust networks and cancel sailings. Emergency fuel surcharges also are being revised upwards frequently, sometimes every two weeks, piling additional financial pressure on European importers. The weakening demand, however, is coming as the container shipping orderbook passes 35% of the in-service fleet. Although global demand for 2026 was forecast to be 3% before the war started with 4% capacity growth, more than 60% of the orderbook is for ships greater than 15,000 TEUs in capacity, and those vessels can only be deployed on the Asia-Europe trade lane.

This webcast, led by Journal of Commerce Europe Editor Greg Knowler, will dissect the Asia-Europe ocean trade and identify the array of pain points that shippers will need to consider as they carefully navigate through the second half of 2026.