(Yicai Global) Jan. 5 -- China’s marine container manufacturers are worried about overcapacity as they hike output to meet demand, because the current global supply shortage is not due to a lack of containers, but rather to a lack of empty containers in circulation, industry insiders told Yicai Global.

Port congestion is the most critical problem in the shipping industry, which has caused a large number of empty containers to stay overseas and not return, Li Muyuan, executive vice president and secretary general of the China Container Industry Association, told Yicai Global.

Yet the country’s container production surged more than two-and-a-half times last year to 5.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units from previous years, and the inventory of new containers may reach 750,000 TEU, a historic high, according to the CCIA.

China International Marine Containers Group, the world’s largest container manufacturer, saw orders more than triple in the first three quarters last year from the same period the year before to 1.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units, the Shenzhen-based firm said earlier. Sales of refrigerated containers jumped 55 percent to 130,000 TEU.

“COSCO Shipping Development has plenty of orders and the plant is working at full blast,” an insider at the Chinese container maker said.

The best way to solve the shortfall of containers is to relieve port congestion, but it will take time, Li said. The industry has also suffered from overcapacity for a long time, so manufacturers should release their excess capacity first rather than increase output, Li said.

China is the world’s largest container producer. More than 96 percent of dry cargo containers and all refrigerated containers in the world are made by in China, according to international logistics consulting company Drewery.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor