Far East-Europe Trade Dominates Global Container Capacity Growth

Nearly 31% of the new global container fleet capacity has been deployed on the Far East-Europe route. File Image / Pixabay

The Far East-Europe trade remains the world's largest and fastest-growing container shipping corridor, absorbing the majority of new capacity added to the global fleet over the past year.

Sector specialist Alphaliner reports between May 2024 and May 2025, the global container fleet expanded by 8.9% to 32.1 million TEU, with 2.62 million TEU of new capacity introduced.

Of this, 817,000 TEU - nearly 31% - was deployed on the Far East-Europe route, where total capacity rose 11.7% year-on-year.

Compared with May 2023, the route has grown by a staggering 40.8%, largely due to the ongoing Red Sea crisis and the continued diversion of vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.

Over the past two years, carriers have added 2.26 million TEU of capacity to this trade lane, raising its share of the global fleet to 24.4%, up from 20.8% in 2023.

Latin America-linked services posted the fastest percentage growth, with a 15.6% year-on-year increase driven by the addition of 606,500 TEU. This brings Latin America's share to 14% of the global fleet, now comparable to that serving the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent, which also saw strong growth of 12% year-on-year.

By contrast, capacity growth on the Far East-North America route was modest at 3.7% (190,000 TEU), while Europe-North America trades grew by 7.3% following a contraction last year.

Carriers are expected to adjust services again in June, responding to surging demand and freight rate hikes, particularly on transpacific routes.