CONTAINER demand revisions suggest that demand from Asia to the Middle East and South Asia is in a steep decline, according to London research house Drewry Maritime Advisors.

"Since we last reported on this trade our data provider Container Trades Statistics (CTS) made a substantial downgrade to the shipments data for the Asia to Middle East and South trade that erased the reported high growth in the first quarter," said the Drewry note.
"The new CTS numbers indicate that westbound trade to both regions grew five per cent instead of the previously reported rate of 16 per cent. Moreover, demand appears to be in retreat as second quarter volumes fell by three per cent.
"Broken down by region, the Asia to Middle East container trade decreased by 5.7 per cent in the second quarter to 850,000 TEU; all but wiping out the first quarter gains.
"Data for July continued the depressing trend, falling by 11 per cent so that after seven months the trade was down by 1.3 per cent year on year," said the research note.