In its weekly report Alphaliner noted that in the last two months 600,000 teu had been added to the orderbook with total capacity on order surging to a 14 month high of 3.67m teu.
While the orderbook to fleet ratio of 21.5% is low compared to the 37.7% average between 2000 – 2013 there is strong bias towards ultra-large containerships of 14,000 teu and over.
“Although the orderbook at 21.5% of the current fleet is still relatively low compared to historical levels, these recent orders will add to a chronic oversupply of large ships that creates ripples in smaller sizes through forced cascading,” the report warned.
At the same time it noted demand growth would lag behind supply over the next two years while an existing newbuilding overhang is yet to be cleared.
“The imbalance created by the excess supply could impede the recovery in the liner sector, with no sustainable recovery expected until after 2015,” Alphaliner said.
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