Record-breaking year for global container volumes in 2025

LONDON : Global container volumes for 2025 hit another all-time record. Volumes rose to 192.9m teu for the year — up from 184.3m teu in the previous year, according to UK-based Container Trades Statistics (CTS).

That was capped by an exceptional year-end, with December setting another monthly lifting record of 16.97m teu.

Eight months in 2025 exceeded 16m teu, with March, May, August, and December establishing new records respectively.

However, record volumes failed to sustain freight rates, which were nearly 20% lower at the end of 2025 compared with the previous year.

“That divergence suggests that the traditional relationship between volumes and pricing, long governed by supply and demand, may be evolving, as record volumes no longer translate directly into higher prices,” CTS notes.

Sign of things
The failure of higher volumes to sustain carrier revenues may be a sign of things to come, argues Freightos analyst Judah Levine.

Both AP Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are reporting a drop in earnings in the fourth quarter last year for the first time in a long time, despite volume growth.

“And as a clear indication of the current uncertainty in the market, even with projections for demand growth again this year, Maersk forecasts either a profit or loss of around $1bn for 2026, mostly hinging on whether or not container traffic returns to the Red Sea,” he notes.

The Far East remained the dominant exporting region, increasing container exports by nearly 7m teu compared with 2024, says CTS.

This performance is particularly notable given earlier concerns around the Trans-Pacific trade amid economic uncertainty.

A major contributor was Intra-Asia trade, which rose 5% year-on-year and emerged as the largest trade lane of 2025.

That is more than double the size of the second-largest trade, Far East to North America.

European container imports also witnessed a sustained surge, driven largely by a 9% increase in cargo originating from the Far East.

This trade reached unprecedented levels in 2025, recording monthly liftings of up to 1.8m teu.

North America was the only region to experience an overall decline in imports during 2025, falling 2% year on year.

This was driven by a reduction in Far East exports to the region, alongside stagnation in European exports into North America.

Source : Trade Winds