Containerised trade can be a complicated thing to forecast. Outside of niche and backhaul trades, the range of commodities transported in containers means that the production-consumption-net trade approach, that can be used to forecast iron ore or crude oil flows, is impractical, writes MSI Director Daniel Richards. Read more at The Loadstar.
Month: September 2025
APAC offshore wind: frontier of growth
Led by China, the Asia Pacific region represents the majority of installed global offshore wind capacity, with a bullish outlook for new capacity in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
MSI senior offshore energy market analyst, Todd Jensen, admitted there have been “some hiccups along the way” in the region but was bullish on its outlook. “The next five to 10 years, there’s a lot of opportunity, especially in APAC, to get offshore wind kicking off,” he said. Read more at Riviera.
The rise and fall of container spot rates — and what it means for 2026
Two years is a lifetime in shipping markets. It’s worth looking back to the pre-Red Sea crisis situation in the autumn of 2023, because today’s container shipping market appears ominously similar.
Next year’s newbuildings will enter a market that is already saturated with capacity. The fleet is much larger than it was before the Houthi attacks. Global containership capacity has increased by 5.1m teu or 19% since 3Q23, according to data from MSI. Read more at Lloydslist.
Supramax drydock wave tightens supply as retrofits crowd yards
Modelling by ABS and MSI suggests that under a “full conversion” scenario, demand for yard slots could exceed capacity as early as 2028 — producing a “gt-day” shortfall that balloons by 2030. Read more at Splash247.com
Guinea-China bauxite trade takes a big bite of 2025 Capesize tonnage
A combination of strong trade and high port waiting times will see the trade employ around 15% of Capesize vessels in 2025, according to MSI.
Massive year on year growth in Guinean bauxite trade has also absorbed Capesize substantial tonnage in 2025, contributing to recent freight market spikes. To read more see Dry Bulk Magazine
China Shakes Off US Tariff Threat
New analysis by MSI cites emerging evidence that the demand side of the industry will prove better-insulated from tariffs than was expected earlier in the year, while a dynamic where Chinese exporters continue to export their manufactured goods surplus – above all to emerging economies – has significantly buoyed trade so far this year. Read more at Marinelink
Does the world have enough yard capacity for all the demand for retrofits?
So, what are the options? ABS and MSI have two possible scenarios, outlined in this year’s Outlook publication. Namely, their full conversion scenario assumes all eligible oil-fuelled vessels are converted due to escalating oil costs. It would require yard capacity expansion before 2030. Read more at Splash247.com
Chinese lessors slip as MSC surges in latest owner rankings
Exclusive data sent to Splash Extra from UK consultancy MSI shows the latest ownership tables compared to a year ago ranked by deadweight of the current fleets, not including orderbooks, offshore or cruise portfolios. Read more at Splash247.com
Coming out of the dark. How machine learning can drive smarter decisions in today’s shipping markets
From trade wars and military conflicts to pandemics and natural disasters, not to mention growing environmental regulations and government interventions, disruptions to supply chains and global shipping markets have had an enormous impact on freight costs and asset values in the last decade, writes MSI Director Will Fray. Read more at Baltic Transport Journal