Asia to North America will lead the global market in container traffic growth in 2024

In 2024, the global container market enjoyed a boom, with traffic increasing by 6.2%. Due to the impact of the Red Sea crisis, the demand for TEU-miles (container traffic) has surged by more than 20%, becoming a key factor driving the market growth.

According to a report by market data analysis firm Sea-Intelligence, many shipping companies had feared that the market would face negative developments in 2024, but the result was an unexpected reversal. In the wake of the Red Sea crisis, shipping companies shunned the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, opting instead to bypass the Cape of Good Hope, a change that boosted TEU-miles demand by 21% in 2024. Sea-intelligence noted that shipping companies quickly adjusted their routes after the Houthi attack at the entrance to the Red Sea, leading to a surge in demand for TEU-miles that far exceeded the peak demand during the epidemic.

In addition, Sea-Intelligence analysis points out that the growth rate of TEU-miles demand showed a significant decline in December 2024 due to the Red Sea crisis, and is expected to fall back sharply in January 2025, mainly due to the December 2023 Red Sea crisis already having an initial impact on the shipping market.

Asia to North America saw the most significant growth

Among the world's seven major trade zones in 2024, containerized cargo shipments from Asia to North America will show the most significant growth, reaching 12%. This growth outpaced the traffic growth in Latin America, Europe and Oceania, making it a bright spot in the global container market in 2024.

According to Container Trade Statistics (CTS) data, global container traffic increased by 10.7 million TEUs in 2024 compared to 2023, a significant net increase overall. While seven major routes saw a decrease in traffic, with a total decrease of 920,000 TEU, the other 42 routes saw an increase of 11.6 million TEU, showing the overall good performance of the market. Container traffic from Europe to the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East saw the largest decline, accounting for 47.6% of the total decline. Second, return shipments from Europe to the Far East fell by 24.8 per cent, while shipments from the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East to Africa also fell. Sea-Intelligence analysis said the losses on these three routes accounted for 87% of the total decline.

Global container demand growth is mainly driven by deep-sea routes

Sea-Intelligence analysis points out that the strong growth of global container demand in 2024 is mainly due to the recovery of cross-border trade in the Pacific Ocean and deep-sea routes between Asia and Europe. These two routes have played an important role in the growth of the global container market.

In addition, Asian domestic trade routes also showed strong growth, but failed to have a large impact on TEU-miles due to their shorter range. At the same time, Sea-Intelligence also warned that the supply and demand balance of the global container market will face greater challenges in 2025, especially due to changes in demand in North America and Europe, and market volatility may increase.

In 2024, the global container transportation market showed strong growth momentum driven by several factors, and overall demand continued to improve despite challenges such as the Red Sea crisis. As 2025 approaches, shipping companies need to pay close attention to changes in global supply and demand and prepare for market volatility.

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