The struggling container industry is causing hardship for a number of the major ocean liners, which are significantly more in debt than other comparable industries such as aviation and road transport, and this makes the container industry more vulnerable to shifts in the financial markets.

Analyst agency SeaIntel Maritime Analysis has gone over the financial reports from 15 container carriers, where there are very few exceptions (Maersk Line and Evergreen) to the overall assessment of a heavily indebted industry, along with signs that several parties may have trouble generating sufficient capital to meet their own debt commitments.