Containership charter rates at a four-year high despite record orderbook

Containership charter rates have climbed to their highest level in four years, despite falling fixtures, and a record orderbook pointing to a major influx of capacity in 2028.

Braemar’s charter index is at 325.8, up 21% year on year and its highest level since autumn 2022. Meanwhile, the number of fixtures between 1 January and 17 October was down 15% year on year, at 853, while capacity fixed declined 10%, to 2.54m teu.

“A few weeks back we showed a record orderbook and a 2028 delivery wave the size of the 2002 fleet. You would expect charterers to be sitting back and waiting. They are not,” says today’s report.

The martime consultancy said the apparent contradiction reflected a shortage of prompt tonnage, with owners having secured long-term employment for vessels during 2024 and 2025.

Charterers are responding by booking further ahead, added Braemar, noting that on a capacity-weighted basis, ships are now being fixed an average of 7.8 months before delivery, against 6.8 months a year earlier. For vessels of 3,000 teu and above, the lead time exceeds 10 months.

In the third quarter, half of fixtures were for ships delivering more than three months ahead, compared with 23% across the same period of 2025.

At the same time, charter costs have diverged sharply from freight rates. While the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) fell 61% between January and October 2025, Braemar’s charter index rose 3%.

“Relative to freight rates, charter costs have run at roughly double their 2021-2024 average,” Braemar highlighted.

The pressure is particularly evident in the feeder and panamax segments, vessels of 1,500-1,900 teu fixed for nine to 15 months now commanding a median $28,625 a day, up 18% year on year. Recent 12-month fixtures have even reached $36,500 a day, according to Braemar data.

In the 4,000-5,099 teu segment, fixtures fell 39%, while short-period rates rose to a median $58,000 a day, from $51,000.

Ships aged 20 years or more accounted for 30% of fixtures this year, up from 26% in 2025. A 20-year-old 1,700 teu feeder still earns a median $24,000 a day, while a panamax built in 1997 fixed at $50,000 a day in September.

Maersk has emerged as the busiest charterer, increasing fixtures by 14% and chartered capacity by 20%, despite the overall market contraction. CMA CGM, last year’s leading charterer, cut its fixtures by 41%.

However, the longer-term outlook is arguably less favourable for owners, warned Braemar analyst Jonathan Roach.

He highlighted that since January 2025, 94 fixtures, representing about 570,000 teu, had involved newbuildings scheduled for delivery in 2028. The largest delivery wave on record, paired with potential easing of Red Sea disruption and forecasted weaker demand in 2027, could all undermine charter rates.

“Charterers are queuing today. By 2028, owners may be the ones in the queue,” summerised Mr Roach.