Maritime Freight Transport Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Maritime Freight Transport Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The maritime freight transport segment is expected to exhibit a growth of about 4% during the forecast period. The traditional port world is changing, as the demographical, technological, and sustainability drivers affect daily business and shape several important trends. The global shipping industry is expected to face a number of challenges, including geopolitical uncertainties, such as the US-China trade negotiations and Brexit.

China has a strong influence on the shipping sector since it is a major trade partner for several countries. Although, the container shipping market in China is facing some early-year disruption due to COVID-19. Even though the bunker prices have increased about 35-45% from January 2020, largely due to changes in fuel regulation on the usage of Low Sulphur Fuel by IMO 2020, the crash in the oil prices due to COVID-19 have nullified this effect.

Tanker rates have profited tremendously from the high demand for floating storage. Still, the charter rates are expected to return closer to long-run averages in the second half of the year, as broad economic weakness finds its way into the tanker market.

Key Market TrendsContainerization is Evolving as a Trend

According to UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), international maritime trade is driven in particular by growth in containerized, dry bulk, and gas cargos. However, uncertainties like geopolitical tensions and global pandemics like COVID-19 remain an overriding theme in the current maritime transport environment, with risks tilted to the downside. The long-term trend toward the containerization of general cargo is upward rising. A large share of globalized containerized trade continued to be carried across the major East-West containerized trade arteries, namely Asia–Europe, the Trans-Pacific, and the Transatlantic. Containerized and dry bulk trades are expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 4.5% and 3.9%, respectively, over the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific is the Fastest Growing Market

The Asia-Pacific region consists of some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, like China and India. The trade exchanges support this growth in the maritime transportation sector by these countries, of which the majority of international trade takes place via sea routes. The central role of Asia in global trade and shipping is also highlighted by trends in global container port-handling activities. Asian countries are experiencing a large increase in intra-regional trade, mostly based on manufacturing trades and reflecting fragmented production processes, where parts are generally manufactured in multiple locations across Asia and assembled in another location. This is also expected to increase trade, supported by marine transportation. Demand growth originated mostly in Asia, bolstered by ongoing energy policy shifts and rising export capacity in Australia and the United States.

Competitive Landscape

The maritime transport market is fairly concentrated, with a few players accounting for significant amounts of shares in the market. Some of the prominent companies in the market are MSC, COSCO, and AP Moller.

Maritime transport is a complex area of activity, owing to the inherently international nature of shipping and its multi-stakeholder dimension. The companies in the sector are focusing on complying with the International Maritime Organization’s lower global sulfur cap on marine fuels (IMO 2020) from January 2020, as the segment moves toward implementing the plans to reduce its carbon footprint and contribution to pollution.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Companies Mentioned
 
AP Moller (Maersk)
Mediterranean Shipping Company SA (MSC)
CMA
CGM
China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO)
Hapag
Lloyd
ONE
Ocean Network Express
Evergreen Line
HMM Co. Ltd
Yang Ming Marine Transport
Zim
Wan Hai Lines
PIL Pacific International Line*

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