Against the backdrop of soaring profits, ship owners have ordered a record number of container ships. However, this behavior has raised a warning against the extravagant spending of a few large shipowners who dominate the industry.
According to Braemar's data, the total capacity of container ships ordered in November reached 8.4 million 20 foot containers, the highest level since the ship broker began collecting data in 2000. Despite the uncertainty in the global trade outlook, record breaking order volumes have emerged, even surpassing the levels achieved during the pandemic when revenue growth was disrupted.
This trend has raised concerns among industry insiders. They believe that ship owners' overly optimistic expansion of capacity in the face of soaring profits may lead to future market oversupply, triggering price wars and profit declines. Therefore, shipowners need to be cautious about market changes and plan their capacity expansion plans reasonably to avoid unnecessary risks.
At the same time, some large companies are also adjusting their diversification, fairness, and inclusiveness strategies. For example, McDonald's announced that it will cancel its diversity goals for its employees and suppliers, becoming the latest major company to comprehensively adjust its strategy. This measure reflects the need for enterprises to flexibly adjust their strategies to adapt to new environments when facing market changes.