Container Leasing Companies Set Record Order Pace

Dec 8, 2011 - For the first time in a decade, container leasing companies orders of shipping outpaced those of ocean lines, reported Drewry Maritime Research.

Container leasing companies ordered a record number of new boxes during the first half of 2011, as the rushed to fill a surge in demand trailing a lag in production during 2009. This lag was due to carriers reallocating their cash to business operations as opposed to buying new equipment.

“The container leasing industry invested in a record number of new containers during 2010 and also strongly in 2011, despite the second-half downturn, taking almost the majority of all production carried out in the two-year period,” said Andrew Foxcroft, the report’s author and a consultant to Drewry.

During the 2004-2008 period shipping lines were very strong financially and well equiped to invest in their own fleets. In the recent past lines have opted to direct their capital in other areas, making it a better financial decision to lease containers as opposed to purchasing them.

What does this mean for the retail buyer that is interested in purchasing a container for storage or conversion purposes? Unfortunately, not very much. Supply is expected to remain tight for the next 12-18 months. The life cycle of the shipping container will continue to process as new orders make their way through the process and old containers are retired and sold off.