Review Of New-building Container Ship Market In 2024

In July this year, the global container ship market ushered in a new peak

with a total of 57 new ship orders received. The order volume in this month alone exceeds the total order volume of 40 ships in the first six months of this year. This number is a record since The highest record since June 2022, when 65 new ship orders were obtained.

Which shipyard receives more newbuilding orders ？

Singaporean shipowners were the most active in ordering in July, signing a total of 22 orders in a single month, accounting for about 39% of the market share. Greece follows closely behind, accounting for about 26% with 15 orders. France ranks third with 12 orders and a market share of approximately 21%. The remaining orders came from buyers in China and Bermuda.

The vast majority of these orders will be built by Chinese shipyards, accounting for 79%, while the remaining orders will be undertaken by Korean shipyards.

Panamax ships take center stage

In terms of ship type, almost half of the new orders are neo-Panamax ships, accounting for about 47%; followed by post-Panamax ships, accounting for about 28%; ultra-large container ships (ULCVs) accounting for about 21%;

The remaining orders are Belongs to branch type. The situation in the Red Sea has led to a significant increase in demand for container ship cargo mileage, forcing shipowners and operators to choose longer routes to avoid potential conflict areas.

This trend has supported container ship earnings, with one-year post-Panamax rates now at $72,000/day, up about 60% year-on-year. With the coronavirus situation showing no signs of easing, earnings are expected to remain strong going forward.

Strong growth in ship asset value

This market condition has resulted in container ship values ​​experiencing unprecedented growth since the start of the year, with all sub-categories and age groups experiencing increases in vessel values.

For example, the value of a 10-year-old, 7,000 TEU post-Panamax ship increased by approximately 71.8% from US$44.08 million to US$75.73 million. In comparison, the price increase of newbuildings has been relatively small.

For example, the price of 7,000 TEU post-Panamax new-buildings has only increased by about 2.49% since the beginning of the year, from US$101.99 million to US$104.53 million.

Team updated with more attractive options. At the same time, the transaction volume of second-hand ships has declined, and many shipowners have chosen to wait and see because the market price is too high, waiting for the market to move. The trend becomes clearer.

Notable contracts include an order for 10 New Panamax ships placed by Ocean Network Express (ONE).

The ships will be built by Jiangsu New Yangzijiang Shipyard and are expected to be delivered from 2027 to 2028. Each ship has a contract price of US$170 million, VV The valuation is US$170.96 million.