Carriers are accelerating their expansion in Africa to capture steadily rising import demand, making Asia–Africa services the fastest-growing container shipping corridor worldwide this year. “There are not many trades where container capacity can nearly double within two years,” said ALPHALINER senior analyst STEFAN VERBERCKMOES.

However, demand growth in Africa has already outpaced the development of port and inland logistics infrastructure. The concentrated influx of Asian cargo is placing significant pressure on major African ports and their hinterland transport corridors.

Strong Growth Momentum on Asia–Africa Trades

According to ALPHALINER, capacity on Asia–Africa trades has grown dramatically over the past two years. As of July 1 this year, 185 container ships with a combined capacity of 1.4 million TEU were deployed on Asia–West Africa services, nearly 30% more than in July 2025. Capacity in July 2025 was already 40% higher than in the same period of 2024.

The latest volume data from Container Trades Statistics (CTS) reflect the same growth trend. In May, Asia–sub-Saharan Africa was the fastest-growing import region year on year for the 13th time in the past 16 months. Total African imports increased by a cumulative 52% during those 16 months, while May volume reached 5 million TEU, up 14.3% from a year earlier.

Freight rates have risen accordingly. Data from freight benchmarking platform XENETA show that average spot rates from Asia to West Africa have increased 43% from the first week of January to USD 5,315 per FEU, while rates from Asia to East Africa have risen 35% to USD 5,310 per FEU.

Although the trade figures are impressive, the continuing surge in cargo volumes is placing heavy pressure on Africa’s still-developing supply-chain infrastructure. THOMAS ORTING JORGENSEN, Head of Trade Management for Africa at Hapag-Lloyd, warned that the challenges created by rising demand could constrain further market growth.

He said, “Terminal capacity, and inland transport capacity in particular, will be the biggest bottleneck to sustained growth... Most ports are congested, delaying and slowing vessel turnarounds and preventing other ships from berthing. In theory, you can add vessels, but if they are only waiting outside the port, no additional capacity has actually been created.”

These bottlenecks are reflected in Africa’s low liner schedule reliability. According to XENETA, on-time performance in the second quarter was only 24%, down 3 percentage points from the first quarter, with an average waiting time of four days.

Despite the infrastructure constraints, Hapag-Lloyd expects its cargo volume to sub-Saharan Africa to exceed 1 million TEU this year and plans to double that figure by 2030.

JORGENSEN said, “Growth in the African market has exceeded our expectations, and the momentum is continuing in 2026.”

As vessel sizes on Asia–Africa services continue to increase, cargo handled during each port call is also rising. The latest S&P data show that average container moves per vessel at Tema, Ghana, increased 17% from January to nearly 2,000 TEU in May. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, recorded a 30% increase to 1,829 TEU, while Lomé, Togo, remained broadly stable at just over 1,000 TEU.

Carriers Race to Expand on African Trades

While Hapag-Lloyd substantially expanded its regional business through the acquisition of Dutch carrier NILEDUTCH in 2021 and DEUTSCHE AFRICA LINE in 2022, other competitors are also actively positioning themselves in one of the world’s most dynamic emerging markets. Last year, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) became the first carrier to deploy 24,000-TEU ultra-large container vessels on African services, regularly calling at Lomé, Abidjan, Tema and Kribi, Cameroon, to meet rapidly growing demand.

CMA CGM also holds a significant position in the African market. It operates six Asia–West Africa services and five Asia–East Africa services and has invested in eight container terminals across the continent. In February this year, the company relocated its African regional headquarters from Marseille to Abidjan.

Maersk is continuing to expand its African network as well. In the second quarter of this year, the company increased its direct Asia–West Africa services from three to four to improve operational reliability and respond to the sharp rise in regional demand.

DYNAMAR’s report The West Africa Container Trades 2026, published in February, shows that West African ports now routinely receive ultra-large container vessels, clearly reflecting the region’s rapid growth in shipping capacity. Ports including Lagos, Lekki, Tema, Abidjan, Kribi and Lomé have all handled vessels of more than 10,000 TEU, a sharp contrast with a decade ago, when ships of around 3,500 TEU were the norm.

Inland Logistics Under Pressure

PHILIPPE LABONNE, CEO of MSC-owned AFRICA GLOBAL LOGISTICS (AGL), said the issue is not how many ports can accommodate ultra-large vessels, but whether inland areas can absorb the resulting cargo volumes. He noted that when a new-generation large vessel calls at an African port, it may discharge thousands of containers within only a few hours.

“This concentration of cargo flows not only places enormous pressure on terminal infrastructure, but also severely tests downstream facilities, including roads, warehouses, customs-clearance systems and inland logistics networks.”

LABONNE believes this is not a ceiling on cargo growth and that the challenge can be addressed through “advance planning and investment.” He noted that port expansion must be matched by corresponding investment in logistics corridors, rail infrastructure, inland terminals and multimodal transport solutions.

A Fundamental Shift in Demand Structure

As major carriers continue to expand their Africa services, SASCHA GEIKEN, Vice President of Ocean Freight for the Middle East and Africa at DHL Global Forwarding, said the current increase in demand is not a short-term fluctuation but a structural shift.

GEIKEN also stressed that several major African gateway ports face critical bottlenecks and struggle to handle large vessels efficiently, placing sustained pressure on liner networks and overall container flows. “We are seeing demand grow in multiple countries and ever-larger ships calling at ports, but the infrastructure outside the ports is equally unable to cope with growth on this scale,” he said.

As carriers and freight forwarders expand their African operations to capture rapidly growing demand, AGL CEO LABONNE believes the next phase of competition in African logistics will not be determined solely by corporate scale or acquisition capacity. “It will depend on the ability to connect ports efficiently with production areas, consumption centers and major regional corridors,” he said. “In other words, value creation will increasingly depend on control of the entire logistics chain, from the terminal all the way to the end customer.”

This article is reproduced from the WeChat official account Maritime Services Network CNS (ID: CNSS-SHIPPING). Original title: “As Ships Get Bigger and Cargo Volumes Surge, African Ports Are Struggling to Cope.” Reproduction authorization has been obtained by email. Copyright belongs to the original author.