Ocean container shipping demand from China to North America and North Europe continued to break records in June (the most recent month’s figures available) as importers rushed to protect supply chains amid the global disruption caused by conflict in the Red Sea.

The latest data shows 800,000 TEU (20ft equivalent container) were shipped from China to North Europe in June, which is the highest ever monthly figure on this trade (Source: Xeneta, Container Trades Statistics).

While the trade from China to North America did not set a new all-time high, it was still the highest volume of containers to have ever been shipped in the month of June at 1.36m TEU. This makes June 2024 the eighth highest month on record and is beaten only by the extraordinary volumes shipped at the height of COVID-19 pandemic disruption in late 2020 and 2021.

Peter Sand, Xeneta Chief Analyst, said: “Conflict in the Red Sea has brought a major shift in the traditional seasonality of ocean supply chains, with concerned shippers rushing to import as many goods as they can earlier in the year. Shippers assessed the impact of the Red Sea conflict on ocean supply chains and are not prepared to take the risk of repeating the chaos of the pandemic years - meaning we have seen record-breaking volumes on major fronthaul trades out of China ahead of the traditional peak season in Q3.”

Photo: Peter Sand.