Containership orders outpaced deliveries in October, the first time that's occurred in more than two years, according to maritime news service Alphaliner.
Roughly 131,000 TEUs of capacity were ordered during the month, while 92,000 TEUs of capacity were delivered (the lowest amount since February).
"There is significant latent demand for new ships, as owners rush to place new vessel orders after having shied away from the yards for almost two years," Alphaliner said. "Since the orderbook peaked at 6.89 million TEUs in August 2008, it has been in continuous decline due to a combination of poor market sentiment and a lack of access to funding. This situation only started to change in June, as the recovery in the freight markets prompted carriers and some non-operating owners to return to the yards.
Although the orderbook will not return to the heady levels of 2007 when it reached a peak of 64 percent of the fleet, its size is expected to remain in the 25-30 percent range next year, if present interest levels are maintained."
