Reefer Analysis 2023: Transition towards business as usual

Dynamar has released the 2023 edition of its long-standing Reefer Analysis series, with an in-depth study of the container and conventional sectors.

The year 2023 will be seen as a transitional year from the heady days of 2022 to, hopefully, business as usual in 2024. In the good times, due to an exceptionally tight and imbalanced container shipping market, the conventional reefer sector was able to attract lots of cargo at very attractive rates.

Once the container market relaxed, its freight rates dropped tremendously, and so did the rates of conventional reefer ships.

According to Dynamar, a Netherlands-based company providing marketing reports in the maritime sector, reefer volumes declining, new container capacity pouring and scrapping rising are the recipe for exciting times. Especially when for the first time in two decades there is a substantial conventional reefer order book.

Whilst the traditional perishable traders, Chiquita (Great White Fleet), Del Monte (Network Shipping) and Dole (Dole Ocean Cargo Express) are withdrawing from the conventional segment, others like Compagnie Fruitière (Africa Express Line) and Cool Carriers still see a market for this specialised ship. Also, in the fish trade conventional reefers are still common.

Meanwhile, container carriers continue doing what they are good at carrying boxes. With congestion a thing of the past and transport volumes reduced, in combination with less congestion, there is plenty of shipboard capacity available, some of which is cascaded to relevant container trades triggering substantial changes to their service networks.

This Dynamar publication builds upon the analysis of the previous years. The study comprises three parts: two separate sections on the different conventional and container reefer trades, based on an extensive write-up and one section analysing the structure of the market. The latest edition of the publication also includes forecasts for perishable trade as well as for fleet developments.

Read more HERE.