THE demand side for container shipping continues to improve on a global scale. The winter weakness in the United States of America and still-sluggish demand in Europe has been offset by continued strong demand on North-South trades in the Atlantic basin and improving conditions on the ever-strong intra-Asian trading lanes, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) said in its latest report.
Demand-side growth is outstripping supply-side growth now, which is something that improves the fundamental balance in the market. This difference is 1-2%, not a landslide change from one day to the next, but a most welcome move in the right direction.
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