European Shipping and Trade Outlook: The Trans-Atlantic

Persistent port congestion in North European ports has held trans-Atlantic schedule reliability below 45% all year. The delays are limiting available vessel capacity and causing carriers to skip ports or blank sailings, with June on-time performance from North Europe to the US East Coast falling to 38% and to 30% out of the Mediterranean. Strong European import volume from Asia is keeping yards under pressure, with Rotterdam and Antwerp regularly exceeding the critical level of 90%, delaying the loading of US-bound boxes and leading to localized equipment shortages. Demand on the trans-Atlantic has begun to slow into the summer, with rates easing after climbing steadily since March. As shippers look ahead to the last quarter and beyond, what can they expect on the trans-Atlantic? Europe congestion is going nowhere, and if demand weakens further, will carriers start ramping up blank sailings? And what will that mean for agreed allocations on the trade lane?

Join us for a Journal of Commerce webcast as a panel of experts puts the trans-Atlantic container trade under the spotlight.