Container ship deliveries hit new record of 2.5 million TEU

Just ten months into 2024, shipyards’ deliveries of container ships have reached a new annual record, according to the latest update from BIMCO.

'A total of 410 ships with a capacity of 2.5 million TEU have been delivered, surpassing the previous full year high of 2.3 million TEU in 2023,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst, BIMCO.

As recycling of older ships has remained low, the deliveries have increased the size of the container fleet by 2.4 million TEU (8.7 percent) since the beginning of 2024.

The container fleet now consists of 6,699 ships with a capacity of 30.4 million TEU, the update added. "It has grown 32% since early 2020 as 7.8 million TEU have been delivered during the first half of the decade, which is the most during any five-year period."

Rasmussen says: “Despite the rapid expansion of the fleet, owners continue to add orders for new ships. So far this year, contracting is already more than double that of last year’s total and 286 ships with a capacity of 3.3 million TEU have been added to the order book. The order book dipped to 5.9 million TEU in early June but is now back at 7.6 million TEU, 25 percent of the size of the total fleet."

Operating owners control 78 percent of the order book but only 60 percent of the fleet, and will therefore see their fleet continue to grow faster than non-operating owners. "So far this decade, operating owners’ fleet has grown 41 percent whereas non-operating owners’ fleet has grown only 18 percent."

Ships with a capacity between 12-17,000 TEU have driven 42 percent of the capacity growth since early 2020, and will also be the main driver of growth in the coming years, the update added. "They contribute 47 percent of the capacity in the order book. Ships larger than 17,000 TEU contributed25 percent of fleet growth in the 2020s and make up 27 percent of the order book’s capacity."

Another 500,000 TEU are scheduled to be delivered during the rest of 2024, driving deliveries for the year close to three million TEU. During the next four years, an average of 1.7 million TEU are scheduled to be delivered each year, the update added.

The order book to fleet ratio is currently 25 percent but actual fleet growth will depend on future recycling. After a few years of very low recycling, 3.4 million TEU will be more than 20 years old next year and prime candidates for recycling in the coming years. If they are all recycled during the next five years, fleet growth from the current order book can be limited to 14 percent,” says Rasmussen.