New analysis from Danish consultancy Sea-Intelligence reveals that trade imbalances have driven the proportion of empty container shipments to record levels. Currently, one in every three containers moved globally is empty, a significant deterioration from the pre-pandemic rate of one in four.

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Measured in teu-miles, empty container repositioning now accounts for 30% of all global container shipping work, up from 24% before the pandemic. The volume of empty containers shipped has increased by 65% since the first quarter of 2019, while full container shipments have grown by only 17% over the same period. Total demand in TEU-miles has risen by 40%.

In practical terms, Sea-Intelligence calculates that carriers are now moving twice the volume of empty containers—when measured by distance—compared with pre-pandemic levels. The consultancy points directly to widening global trade imbalances as the underlying cause. Where cargo flows are unequal between regions, carriers must reposition empty equipment to where demand exists, absorbing both the cost and the capacity to do so.

Sea-Intelligence warned that this trend has direct consequences for freight rates. The added cost of these imbalances will increase costs and, consequently, freight rates for head-haul shippers. The consultancy noted that shippers on high-volume lanes ultimately bear the expense of repositioning the industry’s growing surplus of empty boxes.

The findings highlight a growing structural challenge for liner shipping, where efficiency gains from larger vessels and network optimisation are increasingly offset by the cost of managing global trade imbalances.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform