Boxships on the Asia-Europe and Asia-North America routes are sailing at a speed that is now far below the average recorded over the past five years.
According to Alphaliner‘s latest report on services between the Far East and the two shores of the North American continent, ships have been travelling, at a speed of less than 16 knots, while the average speed of vessels on the Far East-Europe trade lane has exceeded 16.3 knots since May.
According to Alphaliner, the rather low cruising speed recorded throughout the first quarter was mainly due to the drop in demand at the beginning of the year. Slow steaming therefore seems to have been a compulsory choice for many shipping companies, dictated by the need to temporarily absorb capacity. Along the three routes, however, shipping traffic has been gradually accelerating since April.
Translation by Giles Foster
