A slowdown in order contracting will come as a welcome step towards rebalancing the market

Against the grain of expectation, the traditional pre-Chinese Golden Week rush proved to be a no show

Demand is proving particularly resilient in the larger sizes, with further tonnage being fixed on long-term charters, according to Alphaliner

Latest CTS figures show global volume growth at 1.3% in the first six months of 2019 against 4.5% at the halfway mark last year

With larger tonnage in demand to cover scrubber retrofits, a two-tier charter market has been created, with vessels in excess of 6,000 teu commanding increasing rates as smaller ships lose ground

Asia-Europe carriers are facing a capacity glut in the third quarter of the year, as transpacific carriers look to other trade partners to pick-up the slack of weakening China cargoes