German carrier Hapag-Lloyd has estimated no-shows of booked containers on the major trade out of Asia are as high as 40 per cent.

"There is so much distrust in the market, and shippers and carriers and NVOs (non-vessel-operating common carriers) are unable to manage and forecast their supply chains," said NYSHEX managing director Jeremy Haycock.

Mr Haycock declared over 800,000 TEU were contracted in 2020 compared with 61,485 TEU in 2019, with an expectation of strong interest in Europe.

"If I can get 50,000 TEU in 2021 in the European market, that will be a good start. I am confident we will get four or five contracts signed in September, both shipper contracts and NVO contracts," said Mr Haycock.

"We have had some good discussions with the European carriers. They are pushing for two-way commitments because they also face a situation where contracts are being signed, but the cargo is never delivered, so they have a great interest in this," said Mr Haycock.

A US$13.5 million investment in NYSHEX from NewRoad Capital Partners and original investors in October 2020 enabled the exchange to expand its geographic footprint to Europe, taking the total investment in NYSHEX to almost $29 million.

"The big difference is that the whole global market right now is in a difficult spot and shipping and logistics managers at companies are desperate for solutions that give predictability, overcapacity and what it will look like in the future," said Mr Haycock.