Lessors still on track for a good year

Container lessors were hard pressed to meet demand during the opening half of this year and, despite indications of a slight slowdown from September onwards, they are not anticipating any major setback in their collective fortunes as occurred in late 2000 and throughout 2001. Underpinned by another strong growth in global box trade volumes, the overall requirement for leased equipment is expected to remain relatively robust for the remainder of the year. Crucially, utilisation levels are continuing to hold up very strongly for the total leased fleet, while per diem rates have remained fairly firm....