OOIL Group Chairman CC Tung said Tuesday that it could take three to four years before the container industry works its way out of the glut of vessel capacity that hangs over the market.

“We are pleased to see that after a very tough year for the container shipping industry in 2009, demand seems to be recovering, albeit tentatively,” Tung said at the christening ceremony for OOCL’s latest ship on Tuesday at the Geoje Shipyard in South Korea. “However, many uncertainties remain and the industry is still looking at a tremendous capacity overhang. It could be three to four years before the supply and demand balance reaches equilibrium.”

From the Journal of Commerce, April 13, 2010