15 August 2025, Friday
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Weekly vessel capacity on Asia-Europe trade routes has become significantly more volatile since 2020, according to Denmark's Sea-Intelligence's latest analysis.
In issue 726 of Sea-Intelligence's Sunday Spotlight, the firm measured weekly TEU capacity fluctuations using a 52-week rolling standard deviation. The Asia-North Europe route saw volatility rise from a pre-pandemic average of 12.3 per cent (2011–2019) to 29.6 per cent between 2021 and 2025 - more than doubling.
Asia-Mediterranean services showed similar increases. Transpacific routes, including Asia–North America West and east coast, saw volatility rise by about 50 per cent, from 20 per cent to 30 per cent.
This increased "lumpiness" in cargo flows is straining port operations, contributing to persistent congestion across European terminals. Factors such as blank sailings, vessel size variation, and schedule delays are driving the instability
