Shipper demand for 40-foot high-cube containers is still increasing, creating stowage problems for ocean carriers and analytical difficulties for trade forecasters using TEU measurements.

All of the ports on the East Coast "have to get in the game," Vice President Joe Biden said recently, and get ready to accept larger cargo ships that will come through an expanded Panama Canal by 2015.

After a strong start in the first quarter, container volumes in the trans-Atlantic trade have declined, and average vessel utilization has dropped sharply, eroding freight rates. As a result, container lines are likely to start canceling vessel sailings in October, according to Drewry.

A mixture of financial necessity and commercial reality is further forcing ocean carriers to return to providing core services only. Shipping lines are still being squeezed out of providing home-grown integrated logistics services. This is evidenced by Maersk's recent news that it has entered into an agreement to sell the assets of its U.S. trucking subsidiary, Bridge Terminal Transport.

A maritime attack from Al-Qaeda or other affiliate terrorist groups is now increasingly likely, maritime security firm Gulf of Aden Group Transits (GoAGT) has warned.