Underinvestment a threat for container ports

Trevor Crowe, director at Clarkson Research Services speaking at JOC’s conference in London today, gave a base case forecast of 5% growth by 2024 to reach 1.15bn teu.

“The downturn in trade gave the industry some breathing space, but that may mean that we are underinvested in capacity going forward,” he said.
This could lead to port strategy returning as the “great battleground of shipping”.

“Definitely the focus on port productivity and capacity is coming back to the centre of focus.”

Mr Crowe also highlighted intra-Asia trade as a key area of growth going forward.