The container shipping industry has been hit hard by the economic crisis
like other industries. The downturn in trade has directly led to a rapid
decline in demand for transport and related services. During the decline in
demand, the major operators tended to reduce their chartered-in tonnage by
returning vessels to their owners. However, the supply side’s response to the
decrease of demand is never immediate. In spite of the economic crisis, new
deliveries in 2009 grew by 42% over 2008 as a result of ships having been
ordered prior to the drop in demand