Source: https://safety4sea.com/covid-19-impacts-global-container-ship-trade/
2020 had a rough beginning, keeping in mind that the first COVID-19 case emerged in late December 2019, with the report stating that during the first six months of 2020, a total 1,675 sailings have been cancelled, or 11%; which comes out at 13% for 2M, 17% for Ocean Alliance and 17% for THE Alliance, while only 8% of non-alliance sailings have been cancelled.
Simon Sundboell, CEO and Founder of eeSea commented that
Understandably, ‘blank sailings’ are the talk of the town among container shipping and supply chain professionals these days. But to truly understand the impact, you need to look beyond the daily trickle of carrier advisories and the number of cancelled sailings. Instead, you need to look at the reduction of container shipping capacity and the pattern that is forming for the weeks and months ahead.
Concerning the Far East - North America, eastbound head haul, including Suez services, the actual deployed vs proforma capacity ratio, after blanks and suspensions, for May is 80% - almost as big a reduction as the February ratio of 71%. YoY (Year-on-Year), including discontinued services, the reduction in May is 21%.
In addition, the research notes that Far East to Europe westbound, shows similar capacity reductions.
Moreover, eeSea presented how sailings and cancellations evolved in Far East - Europe Head Haul, including Mediterranean and Northern Europe:
On the other hand, concerning the Far East - North America Head Haul, East and West coasts, including the Suez Canal:
A survey of upcoming tech trends carried out for our new Shipping in 2030 magazine, published in association with MacGregor, has a strong focus on ship performance.