Availability of Shipping Containers The worldwide shortage of shipping containers is the hottest issue of the shipping industry from the start of 2020. Shipping containers are crucial in sea trade. Shipping containers are manufactured at a large scale to meet the needs of trade. There are a large number of shipping container manufacturing companies in the world supplying hundreds of containers every month. Containers do not have single-use as shipping containers but they could be used as economical housing, sheds, emergency medical facilities, truck gardening, food truck restaurants, and many others. Whenever the demand for a particular thing increases, the buyers face a shortage of that item. However, the well-reputed manufacturers (MSC, CMEC, etc.) never let the shortage prevail longer and find alternative solutions. Shortage of shipping containers due to Covid-19: Thousands of shipping containers were transformed into emergency medical facility spots, the usual buyer faces a severe shortage of shipping containers. China is the biggest shipping container supplier, stop the supply of containers during the pandemic. According to the report of DCEF (Drewry’s container equipment forecaster), the reason for decreasing the availability of shipping containers was not the shortage but some logistics problems. Thousands of sailings were blanked in the first part of the year (declined to six percent in the first six months of the year). Uneven trade flow: The actual availability of shipping containers decreased when containers were rebound in China and peak spell of demand in Europe and the US for Christmas and New Year. At the same time, the demand from the Asian pacific was not high and China was willing to pay high freights to the shipping liners. So they shift their containers to serve China. This creates an unbalanced situation between European and Asian trade. Every country and company faces hurdles and disruptions in normal trade due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Delays and high cargo/freight rates occurred and the reason was the shortage of shipping containers in major international ports. Vinyl and steel shipping containers cargo chemicals remain in regular shortage and face fluctuations in prices mainly in the United States and other countries. The majority of the ocean trade is practiced through cheap containers of plywood flooring carrying a wide range of cargo. PP containers: PP (polypropylene) and PE (polyethylene) containers (used polymer shipping) buyers faced delays collecting cargos or noticed for shipments postponed or pushed out in majority consignments, market members claimed. Container shipments coming from Asia were very compact and prices have doubled in fewer months, with fluctuation between $3,600 to 4,100 per container. Availability of shipping containers: MSC, Italy, and COSCO, China is the leading shipping container manufacturers and suppliers in the world. Whatever kind of shipping container you want to purchase, book or want to send cargo (precious cargo, food cargo, dry cargo, and hazardous cargo), the above-mentioned companies are the best to trust. Working for more than 40 years to facilitate the traders, they have an extensive chain system from starting from loading to unloading. It is expected that the shortage of shipping containers faced by market members would be fulfilled in 2021. The shipping container manufacturers have been asked to work more on meeting the demand of containers and bring down the prices to shift the disrupted trade towards regularity. The unavailability of shipping containers does not affect the large importers the way small importers get affected. In the period of shortage, large suppliers are favored to keep cargo in the shipping containers causing delays in container receives. Being the largest manufacturers of shipping containers and flooring of shipping containers, China and Denmark claimed that they have ramped up the production rate of shipping containers to meet the shortage as early as possible. Working hours in shipping container manufacturing and shipping container flooring have been increased to 11 hours and double shifting is offered to work day and night. Second thing is to send back the containers tucked on the ports mainly in the USA. Once the shipping containers stuck under various lockdown regulations, the shortage will be finished. Coming out of the pandemic crisis, every country’s government focusing on providing relief and shipping containers to the traders. References: Islam, H., Zhang, G., Setunge, S., & Bhuiyan, M. A. (2016). Life cycle assessment of shipping container home: A sustainable construction. 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