The half-year outlook 2025: Containers

EVERY year, Lloyd’s List publishes two sets of market outlooks. One at the end of the year and one mid-way through.

Disruption and uncertainty have been synonymous with container shipping in recent years. So far, 2025 has seen more of the same and the only certainty at this stage is that this is unlikely to change through to December.

US trade policies under Trump 2.0 have dominated proceedings in the opening months of the year, with the industry, like everyone else, second-guessing the president and his administration’s next move in an unpredictable game of yo-yo tariffs being played out on the global stage.

This week’s episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast takes a look at the container sector’s year so far in 2025, and offers some insight into what the next six months might hold for the market amid tariff uncertainty and increasing geopolitical tensions.

Joining Joshua Minchin on this week’s episode are:

• Linton Nightingale, Lloyd’s List deputy editor

• Neil Dekker, Infospectrum senior analyst