{
  "id": 1539101,
  "title": "Empty containers a freighted issue for global trade growth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/empty-containers-a-freighted-issue-for-global-trade-growth",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-17T18:30:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "FreightWaves",
    "slug": "freightwaves",
    "url": "https://www.freightwaves.com/news/empty-containers-a-freighted-issue-for-global-trade-growth"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Global trade is experiencing robust growth in 2026, but this success is accompanied by a significant increase in empty containers, posing challenges for shipping lines and ports. According to Rico Luman, a senior economist at Dutch investment bank ING, container volumes are outperforming expectations, despite ongoing headwinds. However, this growth is accompanied by a surge in empty containers, particularly due to exports from China. This imbalance in East-West trade is causing a surge in return moves for empty containers, burdening terminals with increased capacity demands.\n\nMajor shipping lines are reporting faster growth in total traffic than their capacity, a trend led by components involved in electrification such as data centers and electric vehicles. Vincent Leclerc, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk, highlighted that empty-linked congestion at ports and terminals is causing schedule issues for ships. This congestion is not only affecting maritime operations but also putting pressure on land-side infrastructure at terminals. To cope with the volume of empty containers, terminals are handling a higher number of return moves, resulting in a terminal burden that is 7-8% higher than the reported container market growth rate.\n\nThe surge in empty containers is not limited to China; the Port of Rotterdam, the busiest sea hub in Europe, saw a 60% increase in empty containers in the first half of 2026 compared to 2020. This trend highlights the growing challenge of handling empty containers, which, while not generating revenue for shipping lines, are creating significant inefficiencies in the global trade system.",
  "summary": "Resilient global trade is not only driving surprising growth, but volumes of ‘disbalanced’ empty containers, too. The post Empty containers a freighted issue for global trade growth appeared first on FreightWaves .",
  "key_points": [
    "Global trade growth in 2026 outpaces container demand.",
    "Empty containers surge due to Chinese exports, causing port congestion.",
    "Terminals face 7-8% higher burden from return moves than market growth."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}