Average carbon-dioxide emissions for global ocean container transport have declined year on year, and by more than 7 percent between 2011 and 2012, according to BSR's Clean Cargo Working Group's 2013 Collaborative Progress report.

Over the course of the history of maritime transportation, the free market has consistently urged service providers to reduce the cost of transporting freight.

Drewry's research shows that the average size of vessel deployed between Asia and North Europe now exceeds 10,000 TEUs for the first time. Orders for Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) have been quiet recently, but the pace of growth in vessel sizes will continue to outstrip cargo growth for the foreseeable future.