Increasing pressures from carrier consolidation are colliding with acute shortages of refrigerated containers, Drewry analysis indicates

REEFER rates are set to skyrocket as the increasing pressures from carrier consolidation collide with acute shortages of reefer containers, according to a new analysis by Drewry.

With half of the planned mergers and acquisitions activity among container carriers still to come into effect, and the typical reefer season cooling down after its peak in the fourth and first quarters, Drewry’s Global Reefer Freight Rate Index increased by $52, or about 2%, from the first quarter to the second. Based on the preliminary data for the third quarter, the index will rise further as the slack season continues, the company advised, while, at the same time, the rates for dry vans are maintaining their normal seasonality, falling from the first to the second quarter and rising again in the third quarter.

Read the full article at Lloyd’s.