The order comes as delays at Asian ports leave 8.5% of the global container fleet effectively unavailable, equal to around 3 million TEU of capacity.
Global schedule reliability fell to just under 50% in August, its lowest level since September 2022, and late vessels arrived an average of 6.8 days behind schedule.
With the congestion unlikely to be fully resolved before the rush to ship goods out of China ahead of its New Year factory closures in February 2027, those delays are set to affect the stock UK businesses are ordering now.
Hayley Hedley, group commercial director at Cleveland Containers, part of Cleveland Group, said headlines about large ship orders can give the wrong impression to businesses planning their stock.
“An order of this size sounds like more capacity is on its way, but for anyone placing orders with suppliers in Asia this winter, it changes nothing for the next few years,” said Hedley.
“The ships that will carry next spring’s stock are already in service, and many of them are currently caught up in congestion at Asian ports.”
