Teekay does not expect a significant increase in LNG carrier utilisation or short-term rates any time this year though it is optimistic on the long term, a company analyst said.

The cautious view for this year comes despite the fact that seven new export projects are scheduled to start up or ramp up operations this year, adding 60 million tonnes per annum of capacity.

Nicholas Schneider, research project manager for the New York-listed shipowner, said in a gas market update that just 25 million tpa of growth in the LNG trade will actually materialise by year-end, as a result of delays delays keeping most of the new capacity out of the market.

&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p &gt;&lt;br/&gt;"The growth of LNG trade in 2016 will likely be the largest annual increase since 2010," he said. "However, the LNG fleet is also expected to grow strongly this year."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p &gt;The 40 newbuildings that hit the waters should keep a lid on rates and utilisation, the analyst said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p &gt;But Schneider said LNG trade growth should increase strongly over the next couple of years, and orders for LNG carrier newbuildings have slumped.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p &gt;&lt;strong&gt;Some &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;s&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;h&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;o&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;r&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;t&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;t&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;e&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;r&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;m&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;h&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;o&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;p&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;e&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p &gt;Despite cautiousness at Teekay, which owns 30 LNG carriers and 20 newbuildings, other analysts see some positive signs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p &gt;Wells Fargo Securities analyst Michael Webber said today that while short-term rates stand at about $30,000 per day, which is 58% below 15 months ago, recent LNG market tendering activity is encouraging.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p &gt;He said the string of multi-cargo tenders could revitalise the spot market, but rates will remain at soft levels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/field&gt;&lt;field name="companyticker"&gt;TGP.NYS&lt;/field&gt;&lt;/content&gt;&lt;/escenic&gt;</div></div>