Manufacturing companies shipping products globally faced unprecedented transportation challenges during the first half of 2025. Red Sea disruptions, trade tensions, and environmental regulations created a complex landscape that demanded strategic decisions based on accurate operational intelligence rather than industry assumptions. For supply chain leaders managing global shipments, understanding actual vessel performance has become critical for reducing supply chain emissions, cost control, and sustainability compliance.
VesselBot's quarterly Decoding Maritime Emissions, Q2 2025: A Data-Driven Look at Emerging Patterns report reveals why granular shipping data matters more than ever for companies moving products across international markets.
The Reality Behind Industry Average-Based or Spend-Based Emissions Calculations
Many manufacturers rely on standard emissions calculations and carrier-provided estimates when planning shipments and reporting environmental impact. However, this approach masks significant performance variations that directly affect your bottom line and supply chain emissions reduction targets.
For our Q2 2025 report, we monitored 72,516 voyages completed by 4,865 different containerships and depicted that total maritime emissions dropped to 46.8 million tons (4.5% lower than Q2 2024) while the global container fleet expanded by 8%. Simultaneously, voyage counts declined slightly by 0.3%, and emissions intensity improved to 196.6 g CO?e/TEU km, representing a 1.5% improvement year-over-year.
This seemingly contradictory trend (fleet expansion alongside emission reduction) illustrates the dynamic nature of maritime markets. Market conditions drive carrier responses: when demand shifts or capacity changes, operators adjust utilization rates, routing patterns, and operational practices (like speed). These market-driven adjustments directly impact emissions performance, and the widely used historical data fail to capture the real-time performance of your shipping services. Granular, shipment-specific data reveals how market conditions translate into actual carrier performance on your routes.
How Vessel Size Impacts Supply Chain Emissions
VesselBot's analysis shows how vessel size directly affects your shipping efficiency and costs. Feeder vessels (up to 2,999 TEU) accounted for 26.7% of the quarter’s total emissions despite representing nearly half of all voyages. Their emissions intensity averaged 253.5 g CO?e/TEU km, significantly higher than the overall average.
In contrast, Very Large Container Ships (17,000+ TEU) achieved the best intensity at 60.4 g CO?e/TEU km while handling substantial cargo volumes. Post-Panamax vessels (8,000-11,999 TEU) delivered 95.2 g CO?e/TEU km intensity, offering a balance between capacity and accessibility to various ports.
For manufacturers shipping to smaller ports or requiring frequent deliveries, Feeder vessels provide essential flexibility despite higher per-unit emissions. Companies with consolidated shipments to major ports can leverage larger vessels for superior environmental and cost performance, significantly reducing their supply chain emissions.
Vessel Age: Why younger is not always better
A common assumption in shipping is that newer vessels automatically deliver better environmental performance. However, VesselBot's Q2 2025 analysis reveals this isn't always true, with important implications for your shipping costs and supply chain emissions.
Vessels aged 11-15 years demonstrated the best well-to-wake (WTW) intensity at 153.5 g CO?e per TEU km, outperforming younger vessels: vessels up to 5 years old recorded a well-to-wake (WTW) intensity of 183 g CO2e per TEU km. To have the complete image, we must add that 11 to 15-year-old vessels carried out 11.859 voyages, sailing on average at 13.45 knots, while vessels up to 5 years completed 10.183 voyages at 13.7 knots.
This finding matters for shippers committed to lowering Scope 3 and overall supply chain emissions. Newer doesn't automatically mean more efficient. The data suggest that factors beyond vessel age, such as cargo loading patterns and route selection, significantly influence environmental performance.
Shipbuilding Origin: An Unexpected Performance Factor
VesselBot's quarterly research documents significant performance differences between vessels built in different countries. Voyages completed by South Korean-built vessels recorded 151.1 g CO?e/TEU km intensity compared to 191.9 g CO?e/TEU km for Chinese-built vessels.
The primary driver is vessel size. South Korean-built ships averaged 3,952 TEU carried, while Chinese-built vessels averaged only 2,541 TEU. This size difference directly affects both supply chain emissions and operational efficiency.
At the same time, in voyages completed by vessels built in South Korean yards, average steaming duration was almost 4.2 days, compared to less than 3.4 days for voyages carried out by Chinese-built vessels.
These distinctions become strategically critical given USTR's Section 301 service fees on Chinese-owned, operated, or built vessels taking effect October 14, 2025. For supply chain leaders evaluating carrier shifts to avoid Section 301 fees, the data reveals that South Korean and Japanese-built vessels provide operational advantages beyond regulatory compliance. Companies can reduce both regulatory costs and environmental impact by prioritizing carriers operating vessels from these shipbuilding nations, which historically focus on larger, more efficient vessel designs.
The Significance of Voyage Characteristics
Different trade routes present distinct efficiency profiles that directly impact your shipping strategy. The Asia-North Europe route, primarily serviced by Very Large Container Ships, achieved the lowest intensity at 57.35 g CO?e/TEU km despite recording the highest absolute emissions at 13,185 tons. These vessels transported an average of 16,042 TEU at 91% utilization.
Conversely, the North Europe-North America East Coast route showed the highest intensity -among major East-West fronthaul routes- at 110.1 g CO?e/TEU km while generating the lowest emissions per voyage at 2,607 tons. The Asia-Mediterranean route delivered strong performance with 76.22 g CO?e/TEU km intensity, transporting 14,060 TEU at 95% utilization..
For manufacturers, understanding route-specific voyage characteristics helps optimize carrier and service selection within existing trade lanes. While sourcing locations are typically fixed by supplier relationships and manufacturing investments, companies can still leverage this data to minimize supply chain emissions by choosing the most efficient carriers and services.
For logistics teams and freight procurement executives, access to real time schedule specific efficiency data enables them to add a new KPI into their assessments, whether during annual tenders or spot freight bookings, when comparing carrier performance across the same origin destination pairs.
Converting Data Into Competitive Advantage
Today's volatile shipping environment demands granular operational intelligence for strategic advantage. Shippers cannot optimize transportation networks or achieve sustainability targets using industry averages and estimated calculations.
The complexity revealed in VesselBot's Q2 2025 analysis (from vessel-specific efficiency patterns to route-dependent performance variations) directly affects your operational costs, delivery performance, and environmental compliance. Companies accessing primary vessel performance data can:
• Reduce Transportation Costs: Identify consistently efficient carriers and routes for contract negotiations based on actual utilization rates and transit times.
• Improve Sustainability Reporting: Use real emissions data instead of spend-based or average-based calculations to accurately measure supply chain emissions and avoid overreporting.
• Enhance Carrier Selection: Move beyond rate cards to evaluate carriers based on operational efficiency, vessel deployment, and environmental performance.
• Strengthen Negotiations: Use performance benchmarks to provide constructive feedback and align carrier incentives for continuous improvement.
The maritime industry demonstrated remarkable adaptability during Q2 2025, achieving emission intensity improvements despite operational challenges. However, supply chain leaders seeking competitive advantage must move beyond traditional shipping metrics to embrace detailed operational intelligence that reveals where and how to reduce costs and supply chain emissions.
Access to granular vessel performance data transforms shipping from a commodity service into a strategic capability that drives competitive advantage in today's complex global marketplace.