Sea Shipping plays important role in our international trading market. More than 90% of GNS Polyurethane Foam (PU Foam) and Silicone Sealant product was ship around the world by sea.  ”

COVID-19 epidemic broke out from last year. After that, the epidemic situation in different countries and regions misplaced recovered, leading to the shortage of containers in the international shipping market. From this March to this April, the blockage of the Suez Canal was tantamount to once again "throwing salt on the wound" to the effectiveness of container turnover in the shipping market. According to relevant experts, during the congestion period, about 30 heavy cargo ships passed through the Suez Canal every day, which meant that 55,000 containers were delayed in delivery.

Reefer Containers Situation:
The global container shortage has also led to a strong growth in the production and sales of refrigerated containers. According to the trader’s estimates, in the first half of this year, China production of reefer containers will increase by about 10%.

The most important characteristics of reefer containers are effective thermal insulation and high mechanical strength. Polyurethane foam is commonly applied in the industry to ensure the thermal insulation of reefer containers. When the density of polyurethane foam is 40kg/m3, the thermal conductivity of polyurethane foam is the lowest. In the actual production process, in order to ensure that the polyurethane foam has certain strength, reduce cavitation rate and take into account the leakage during foaming, where the design density is slightly larger than 40kg/m3. The wall thickness is generally between 50-120mm. For special purpose refrigerated containers, the local wall thickness can be reduced to 30mm. A/B system materials are foamed by casting.

CIMC Situation:
According to the report of 2021Q1 released by CIMC, one of the largest manufacturers of reefer containers in China:

 

“Although COVID-19 spread worldwide in 2021Q1, the global economy was recovering rapidly after the vaccination program and the European and American economic relief plan. International trade maintained high visibility and market demand for containers continued to be high. During the reporting period, the operating revenue of container manufacturing business of the group increased significantly, of which the cumulative sales volume of dry containers was 450,800 TEU (164,500 TEU in the same period of last year), with a year-on-year growth of about 174.04%. The cumulative sales volume of refrigerators was 45,900 TEU (25,200 TEU in the same period of last year), with a year-on-year increase of 82.14%.

Maersk (MCI) Situation:
A.P. Muller Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, released its 2021 Q1 fincial performance report in early May 2021:

“Although COVID-19 is still spreading, and the global supply chain is seriously frustrated, the market demand continues to rise. Affected by this, the company’s performance started exceptionally strong in 2021. All business sectors such as shipping, port services and logistics achieved high revenue and growth. Based on its performance in the first quarter, the company raised its annual performance expectation. "As part of the full year performance forecast for 2021, A.P. Mueller Maersk expects the current special market situation: supply chain bottlenecks and shortage of containers due to the surge in demand will continue until the fourth quarter of 2021, which was expected to last until the first quarter and then return to normal. In line with expectations, the profitability of the first quarter of 2021 is higher than that of the fourth quarter of 2020, which is mainly driven by the growth of China’s exports to the United States (the growth is the highest in the first half of the year). The shipping business is expected to keep in line with the growth of global market demand in 2021, and the growth is expected to increase from 3-5% to 5-7%.”
After the short slump in the early 2020, the international trade market came roaring back, of course, it increase the demand of containers as well as the seashipping. We expect the strong year of 2021 will keepgoing on. GNS will always provided better product and better services to customer all over the world.