Red Sea crisis may lead to container shortage in Asia

Tobias Meyer, chief executive of German logistics giant DHL, warned on Wednesday that the ongoing disruption to global trade caused by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea could lead to containers in Asia facing shortages in the coming weeks as there may not be a sufficient number of containers to be shipped back to Asia.

Currently, the Red Sea crisis continues to fester, with Houthi attacks on container ships leading to restricted access to the Red Sea and Suez Canal and ship detours, with the immediate impact being a shortage of containers and a reduction in ship capacity. In the past, when there is a shortage of empty containers, Asian ports are often the “hardest hit”.

Shipping consultancy Vespucci Maritime’s data show that before the Chinese New Year, arriving in Asian ports, the volume of containers is expected to be reduced by 780,000 TEU (20-foot container international unit).

According to industry sources, right now in some container shortages, carriers have begun to VIP customers and spot out of high customers. And as the efficiency of empty container return becomes lower after the bypass, superimposed on the peak of shipments before the Lunar New Year, the crisis of shortages of empty containers, capacity and space in mid to late January may become increasingly prominent.