's current shipping market is in an adjustment phase. Concerns about the global economy have affected market sentiment to a certain extent, leading to a reduction in market demand. With the easing of port congestion, charter rates have fallen.
VesselsValue data show that the one-year term charter level of Panamax (4250 TEU) ships reached a peak of US $99000/day in March this year; by the end of September, the rent had dropped to US $51000/day. The chart below shows time charter rates for all container vessel types from 2018 to date.
container ship prices have risen steadily over the past two years, ship prices have fallen as freight rates have fallen since August this year. For example, the price of a five-year-old Panamax container ship fell from a peak of $118.391 million in April to $89.6 million at the end of September, a drop of 25%.
Handheld orders and new ship prices
2021, the number of container newbuilding orders will reach a record 621 ships, equivalent to 3.9 million TEUs. New shipbuilding demand has slowed this year, with only 355 new ship orders so far, almost half of last year's. The chart below shows the prices of container newbuilding in 2021 and 2022 to date.
The most popular vessel type for 2021 is the new Panamax with a container capacity of approximately 15000 TEUs. And this year, 7000~7800 TEU of the super Panamax ship more by the owner sought after.
The average new ship price for new Panamax ships fell from $0.2813 billion at the beginning of the year to $0.26363 billion at the end of September, a decrease of about 6%. The biggest price drop was for sub-Panamax vessels of 2000-3000 TEUs, down 17.2 per cent year-to-date to $51.47 million. The chart below shows the number of orders for new container ships built in 2021 and 2022 to date.
Second-hand boat market
From January to September 2021, 539 used container ships were traded, compared with 270 sold in the same period this year. A total of 95 vessels were traded in the second quarter of this year, while only 46 vessels were traded in the third quarter. MSC was once again the largest buyer, buying seven vessels and Wanhai buying four sub-Panamax vessels.
from the price point of view, in contrast to the exponential growth of container ship asset prices in the first three quarters of 2021, the overall decline in ship prices in 2022 is significant. The chart below shows the projected changes in container ship asset prices.
Prediction
after a strong performance in the first half of the year, the volume of major routes is slowing down. But in Asia, markets have shown signs of strength.
Fleet capacity growth is still high in, with hand-held orders accounting for 30% of existing fleet capacity in July, the highest level since the peak in 2008. The level of ship dismantling is low, but it is expected to increase significantly as the market stabilizes and new regulations on decarbonization take effect. After 2023, new shipbuilding demand is expected to decline and prices will fall.
Source: China Ocean Shipping E-Journal