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Omicron set to extend long-running container shipping boom

Coronavirus variant has the potential to keep the good times coming for liner operators

The new strain of Covid-19 will add to the array of pandemic-related factors that have fuelled the 18-month container shipping boom, analysts believe.

Container freight rates held firm this week amid expectations that the impact of the pandemic will delay any fall in freight rates or easing of port congestion.

“High rates and congestion are ultimately results of the consumer spending shift from services to goods that began early in the pandemic,” said Freightos analyst Judah Levine.

So the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant “has the potential to push the shift back to spending on services even further away”, he said.

Uncertainty over the new strain has not affected freight rates, which have stabilised on many routes.

Read the full story at Tradewinds

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