There are developments in the container shipping fleet that are making the marine careers of those working in a global network more plentiful and more varied. Their employers, particularly considering the number of new vessels that they are ordering, should help in what is a crucial global industry.
There is on behalf of some companies, a major effort to improve the viability of container shipping and their new vessels are also spearheading the use of alternative fuels in place of fossil fuels and thus reducing the greenhouse gases that modern-day shipping is somewhat responsible for. Creating numerous amounts of new shipping jobs in this sector.
This drive on behalf of the container fleet owners is, rather strangely, leading to a rise in overcapacity for the container industry, despite problems from disruptions in the Red Sea where vessels are having to take different routes. These effects of these diversions are running against the new vessel deliveries, where deliveries of new ships are likely to cause a 7-8% oversupply of containers. As older and redundant ships are scrapped the oversupply will be lessened but there are changing demands, and alliances which we are yet to see the ramifications of, not forgetting developments in the use of tariffs to alter the way trade is paid for.
New Shipping Machinery
The numbers surrounding the increase in container ship fleet are up from 2024, where oversupply was 3-4%. In 2025 the number of new ships ordered is around 220, which amounts to a figure of 1.9 million TEU, which stands for Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit. This is a standard unit for measuring the cargo capacity of container vessels and in terminals. One TEU is equivalent to the volume of a 20ft shipping container. 2 TEU’s refers to a 40ft container.
Tariff changes around the globe will impact the maritime industry, to a potentially dramatic effect. The news will be vigilantly watched in the coming months to see what effects tariffs, particularly those on Chinese goods, will have with reference to supply chains.
Through the lens of world economics, commentators are warning of global economy issue and high inflation, which will have to be dealt with by governments in charge of balance of payments in their countries. China is not the only heavy exporter that may be impacted by this, Canada and Mexico are also in the spotlight for the fact that the supply chain structure will be negatively impacted by near/friend shoring. Near shoring involves switching operations to a nearby country, often with shared borders. Friend shoring focuses on sourcing from politically aligned countries who are supposed to be reliable trading partners.
Considering financial health, some carriers have shown a resilient financial stability, whilst some overseers say that the industry faces two ongoing problems, namely debt levels and market volatility.
Use of up-to-date technological advancement in the container fleet market is a concern for shipping fleet owners. This will be particularly effective if more smart, autonomous and data-rich containers. The containers themselves will offer a wealth of data. Such things as its position on the ship, the condition of its contents and their inherent weight. Also, the container could supply information about its immediate surroundings. Making use of the most up-to-date tech. some containers may make use of drone-type information technology to fly themselves to a decided position on the quayside reducing the need to move the cargo by crane.
