Neptune Orient Lines Ltd, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and other shipping companies said they will carry between 10 percent and 12 percent more cargo to the US from Asia this year, more than earlier forecast, bolstered by growth in the world's largest economy.
With new shipping capacity forecast to grow by 9.5 percent or less this year, the shipping lines say they expect to proceed with a previously announced rate increase of US$450 for each 40-foot container, they said in an e-mailed statement.
"This would suggest that pricing power remains with the shipping operators," said Peter Williamson, an analyst at ING Financial Markets. "If [exporters] want quality space, they would have to pay for it. It looks like volume growth looks robust and there isn't enough capacity to meet it."
Demand for containers to ship clothes, computer monitors and other Asian exports led shipping lines to raise freight rates to the west coast of the US by as much as one-fifth last year.
That has driven up profits and share prices of shipping companies.
The shipping lines in September predicted they would carry 10 percent more cargo to the US West Coast this year.
Shares of Evergreen Marine Corp rose as much as 6.7 percent to NT$35 in Taipei, and traded at NT$34.6 at 10:22am in Taipei. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd's stock rose as much as 2.1 percent in Tokyo.
"From all indications, the coming year will see robust trade for US importers and retailers and for the carriers handling their transportation and logistics," said Albert Pierce, executive director of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, which includes Neptune Orient and 13 other shipping lines.
The US economy expanded at its fastest pace in two decades in the third quarter, with consumer confidence this month surging to the highest level in three years.
Asian exports to the US rose 7.1 percent in the first 11 months of last year to US$421 billion, according to the US International Trade Commission.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
RSS