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Hong Kong-based transport advisory firm Transport Trackers said it found evidence of a recent rebound in container vessels demand and charters following a "recovery and frenzy for freight out of China pre-Chinese New Year, also representing a ‘short squeeze’ in the physical market from insufficient ships to cover a spike in outbound China/Asia volumes.
"Our anecdotal sweep shows a mini-flood of vessels coming out of layup, with one broker suggesting most could be out of layup in short order. This will pair up with new service and loop startups," said the note from the company, which is headed by the well-known shipping analyst Charles De Trenck. "The risk is too much too soon, of course."
It said "large owner-operators such as Maersk have been aggressive in chasing early charter deals. The idea, of course, was to lock in lower charter levels over longer time periods."
Last week the newsletter Alphaliner reported: "The idle containership fleet fell below 10 percent for the first time in six months as slow steaming and the deployment of extra loaders for the pre-Lunar New Year cargo rush took up more than 60,000 TEUs of idle tonnage over the last fortnight."
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