I N D U S T R Y N E W S
APL box volume zooms 63 pc in Dec '09-Feb '10
Mar 9Neptune Orient Line (NOL) has announced that its container shipping arm APL moved 307,400 FEU in the six-week period ending February 5, a 63 per cent year-on-year increase.
"The improvement in volume was due to higher volumes lifted in all trade lanes and stronger pre-Chinese New Year shipments," an NOL statement said.
But average revenue per FEU declined nine per cent during the reporting period to US$2,417 per FEU, down from $2,646/FEU a year earlier.
"Lower average revenue per FEU year on year was due to lower core freight rates, particularly on the transpacific and changes in trade mix, partially offset by improvements in Asia Europe rates," it said.
On a brighter note, the average revenue per FEU for the period under review was 10 per cent higher compared to the previous six-week period, "due to increased freight rates on key trade lanes and the implementation of the Emergency Revenue Charge on the Transpacific on January 15, NOL said.
For the whole of 2009 the NOL group posted a net loss of US$741 million, compared with a net profit of $83 million for 2008. Full-year revenue in 2009 registered a year on year decline of 30 per cent to $6.5 billion.
For the fourth quarter of 2009, NOL recorded a net loss of $211 million, compared to a net loss of $149 million for the corresponding quarter a year earlier on revenue of $2.02 billion, down 12 per cent year on year.
Said NOL chairman Cheng Wai Keung: "2009 was a most demanding year. We witnessed a worldwide economic downturn of unprecedented scale and, as a consequence, experienced a major slowdown in global trade. In the face of very difficult market circumstances, the group has reported a substantial loss."
The group's container shipping segment during the whole of 2009 transported 2.3 million FEU, a decrease of seven per cent compared to 2008. Average revenue per FEU last year was 25 per cent lower at US$2,286 than the previous year. In 2009, revenue was down 31 per cent year on year at $5.5 billion, contributing to an EBIT loss of $739 million.
Maritime India - New Delhi
Rlys' February freight earnings up 2.6 pc
Mar 9The Indian Railways has registered a 5.43 per cent growth in total earnings, mopping up Rs 7,147.89 crore, in February against the corresponding period last fiscal. Earnings from goods movement, which contribute about 67-68 per cent to Railways' total earnings, registered a low growth rate of 2.65 per cent in the month against February 2009.
This is lower than the 5.39 per cent growth registered by goods movement in January.
In absolute terms, the Railways earned Rs 4,793.56 crore in February from freight movement.
Earnings from passenger movement and other coaching services registered a 7.59 per cent and 12 per cent growth respectively.
Passenger earnings were at Rs 2,004.9 crore, other earnings at 188.39 crore.
The total approximate earnings in the 11-month period of April 1, 2009 - February 28, 2010, were Rs 77,890.29 crore, an increase of 8.45 per cent (Rs. 71,821.97 crore), said an official release here.
The total goods earnings touched Rs 52,584.57 crore in the 11-month period, registering an increase of 7.67 per cent.
The total passenger revenue earnings were Rs. 21,400.1 crore (Rs 19,922.59 crore), registering an increase of 7.42 per cent.
The revenues from other coaching amounted to Rs 2,087.35 crore, an increase of 15.83 per cent against corresponding period last fiscal.
Maritime India - New Delhi
The New World Alliance announces pacific southwest express service changes
Mar 9The New World Alliance (TNWA) carriers - APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL)- announced plans to revamp the Pacific Southwest Express (PSX) service. TNWA will add one ship to the PSX service for a direct service from Thailand to the U.S. West Coast.
The revised deployment will commence on 15 March 2010.
The new eastbound PSX port rotation will be as follows: Laem Chabang (Sun/Mon) - Cai Mep (Wed/Fri) - Hong Kong (Sun/Mon) - Yantian (Mon/Tue) - Los Angeles (Mon/Thu) - Oakland (Fri/Sat) - Tokyo (Thu/Thu) - Xiamen (Sun/Mon) - Hong Kong (Tue/Tue) - Da Chan Bay (Wed/Thu) - Laem Chabang (Sun). Commencement: Mar 15 (ETD Laem Chabang) MOL Solution 107E.
Maritime India - New Delhi
UASC secures funds for three container vessels
Mar 9United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) said it has concluding a multi-currency $275 million (Dh1 billion) term loan facility on a 'club deal' basis. The funds have been secured to finance UASC's acquisition of three A13-type container vessels, each with a capacity of 13,100 TEU. These, together with an additional six A13s, will complete the company's new building order of nine 13,100 TEU container vessels ordered from Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea, valued at $1.5 billion.
These ships will be equipped with the latest waste heat recovery technology, making them among the "greenest" ships available on the market, demonstrating UASC's commitment to reduce and limit carbon dioxide emissions. Qatar National Bank was the mandated lead arranger and coordinating bank, br inging in Burgan Bank (Kuwait), the Commercial Bank of Qatar and Doha Bank as lead arrangers and Al Khaliji Commercial Bank as arranger for this important cross-border GCC transaction.
QNB is also the documentation agent, facility agent, security agent and the account bank, while BNP Paribas (Suisse) is the structuring bank. Jorn Hinge, president and chief executive of UASC, said, "With this facility, UASC will finance three of the nine A13-type container vessels currently on order.
"We at UASC recognise the effort to conclude this senior facility by leading banks from the GCC as a token of trust in UASC's solid foundation, sound performance and strong future prospects within the current challenging market environment.""By the time the entire new building order is delivered, UASC will have substantially increased its fleet capacity," Hing said.
Maritime India - New Delhi
Qingdao port box volume up 9.5 pc in January
Mar 9The Port of Qingdao recorded a container throughput of 934,000 TEU in January, an increase of 9.5 pc year on year. Throughput rose 9.3 pc to 28.1 million tonnes. Foreign trade rose 19 pc to 21.2 million tonnes. Shandong provincial seaports handled 66.4 million tonnes of cargo in January, up 26.9 pc year on year. The Port of Rizhao handled 18.1 million tonnes, increasing 35.6 pc. Port of Yantai's throughput surged 62.3 pc to 12.6 million tonnes.
Maritime India - New Delhi
Singapore junior minister pledges commitment to maritime industry
Mar 9The Singapore government is committed to supporting the maritime sector by pressing ahead with the Pasir PanjangTerminals extension and measures to retain maritime business, said Lim Hwee Hua, second minister for finance and transport. Speaking to the Singapore Organisation of Seaman (SOS)/Seacare Hong Bao, Mrs Lim said the Maritime Port Authority is also working with universities, polytechnics and the industry to develop Singapore's maritime education, training and research capabilities.
"These are all part of our long-term efforts to expand our maritime sector to ensure that there are good jobs for Singaporeans," she said. "The maritime community has always been closely-knit. Over the years, you have provided a vital service to our maritime community.
The efforts of SOS and Seacare to support and care for seafarers are indeed commendable and are one of the best examples of how the union can work closely with management to care for your workers, especially during an economic recession," said Mrs Lim."In a downturn, some companies try to cut benefits to keep costs low. SOS is an important voice to ensure that the welfare of our seafarers is looked after," she said. "Even though 2009 was a challenging year for the whole maritime industry, we still managed a decent performance. Singapore remains the world's busiest container port and top bunkering port. This is in no small part due to our important tri-partite arrangement of which SOS remains a valuable partner," said Mrs Lim.
Maritime India - New Delhi
Vladivostok Container Terminal throughput rises 30.7 pc in Jan
Mar 9The throughput of Vladivostok Container Terminal increased 30.7 pc year on year to 19,304 TEU in January. Exports came to 7,453 TEU while imports stood at 4,697 TEU. Cabotage accounted for 7,154 TEU while reefer throughput totalled 2,643 TEU. In January 2010, the terminal handled 35 vessels, two more than in December 2009. Average turnaround of one vessel was 552 TEU.
Maritime India - New Delhi
India-US to tie up for bilateral trade promotions
Mar 9India and the US will sign a crucial agreement on March 17, laying down fresh rules and objectives for mutual trade and investment. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma would be going to Washington for signing of the Framework for Cooperation in Trade and Investment. The two countries have been engaged in negotiating this pact for the last few years with an intention to remove impediments in their economic relations. The US has been seeking greater market access in India and raising concern over protection of the intellectual property rights (IPR). However, India said it has an excellent record in protection of IPR.
In the fiscal 2008-09, India-US trade aggregated at about USD 39.71 billion. The US was India's third largest partner both in trade and investment in the last financial year. The two countries already have an institutional arrangement for promoting their economic ties. The India-US Trade Policy Forum created in 2005 has been serving, "a core element of the economics, trade and agriculture pillar of the Strategic Dialogue and remains the principal bilateral forum for discussing trade and investment," the trade agenda of the US President Barack Obama for 2010 has said.
Maritime India - New Delhi
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