Hapag-Lloyd orders 150,000 new containers to meet demand

Hapag-Lloyd has ordered 150,000 TEU of standard and reefer containers to meet rising demand for goods.

The carrier said it is following up on a previous order it made at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw it expand its fleet of containers.

The new containers have been ordered from China and some have already been delivered and integrated into Hapag-Lloyd’s existing fleet. The rest will arrive in the upcoming months, the carrier said.

Additionally, it has ordered 8,000 TEU of ‘special containers’ to be used for over-sized or dangerous goods.

Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, said, “The container shipping industry is currently seeing unprecedented demand, which has led to a shortage of containers all over the world.

“With its recent container orders, Hapag-Lloyd is contributing to efforts to ease the current situation and will be able to offer its customers a much better service.

The investments amount to roughly $550 million – making it one of the biggest container orders in the history of Hapag-Lloyd.

The Hamburg-based carrier has enjoyed a considerable bounce in its profitability since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of 2019, and its earnings grew by 38.6% in 2020 thanks to rising freight rates and low bunkering prices.

https://www.porttechnology.org/news/hapag-lloyd-orders-150000-new-containers-to-meet-demand/