Shortage of new builds in Asia will affect container availability
Article from Maritime Asia

SINGAPORE - An unprecedented shortage of steel is threatening to blunt the spectacular recovery of liner shipping, with container manufacturers having to cut back production and ration new box deliveries to both ocean carriers and leasing companies. The industry faces severe shortfalls within a matter of weeks, Sea Containers president James Sherwood predicted yesterday. In a dramatic summary of the looming crisis, Mr Sherwood revealed that supplies of steel for the manufacture of containers "have run out in much of Asia". Speaking from Singapore, where he had heard first-hand accounts of how soaring steel prices were hitting local factories, Mr Sherwood said he had "never seen such a shortage of steel in the history of this business". One of the largest container manufacturers had told him that though it needed 20,000 tons of steel to meet monthly requirements, only 1,000 tons were available. In the container leasing business for some 40 years, Mr Sherwood said he had seen energy crises that had disrupted world trade, "but this is the first time I have ever seen a steel crisis". Supplies have dried up at a critical time for the container shipping industry, which is experiencing one of the biggest cargo booms ever as exports from China and other parts of Asia go from strength to strength. Ports across the region are clogged with freight, with congestion delaying ships that are often having to wait days for a berth, to the extent that the whole transport system "has almost seized up", Mr Sherwood said during a conference call to announce Sea Containers ' 2004 results.