Carrier Executives Predict Freight Capacity Will Tighten

Michael White, North American president of Maersk Line, Norfolk, VA recently predicted that in the private sector, the shortage of international cargo containers that developed early in 2010 will repeat itself when freight demand grows and strains the ocean shipping industry’s equipment capacity. Those shortages were created after manufacturers cut their building capacity to near zero, he said, because loss-plagued carriers couldn’t afford to buy equipment during the recession. After 2009, White said, “carriers have made the very difficult but necessary decision to match capacity with demand” and curtailed the habit of creating overcapacity through equipment purchases.