Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) yesterday gave a rosy outlook for the first half of this year on expectations that container shipping rates would remain high.
A combination of a shortage of empty containers and traffic congestion at ports worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to keep freight rates high until the end of June, Yang Ming president Patrick Tu (杜書勤) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.
Yang Ming is Taiwan’s second-largest container shipper by fleet size.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times
It has negotiated new annual long-term contracts for its routes from Asia to the US with some of its clients, Tu said, adding that contract rates and capacity ordered by clients rose from a year earlier.
Yang Ming’s operations from Asia to the US made up 42 percent of its total revenue last year, followed by its operations in Europe with 32 percent and Asia with 26 percent, company data showed.
The shipping industry has had an oversupply problem over the past few years, but the issue would be resolved this year, Tu said, citing forecasts by maritime research firms such as London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd and Clarkson PLC.
Drewry has forecast that supply for container capacity would grow 4.5 percent this year and demand would rise 8.9 percent, while Clarkson projected a 3.8 percent gain in supply and 5.4 percent rise in demand, Tu said.
Whether Yang Ming would sustain its profit momentum in the second half of this year is still unclear, as it would depend on the pandemic and fuel costs, Tu said.
Overall, Yang Ming is optimistic about turning a profit, he said.
The company yesterday reported an average freight rate of US$1,140 per twenty-foot-equivalent unit (TEU) at the end of last year, up 50 percent from US$759 a year earlier, while its average fuel cost dropped 31 percent annually to US$321 per tonne.
Asked if the Suez Canal being blocked by the MV Ever Given container ship has affected Yang Ming’s operations, Tu said two Yang Ming vessels have turned south to sail around the Cape of Good Hope.
Although the change in course would add seven to 10 days to the shipping time, Yang Ming would not need to compensate its clients according to global maritime law, he said.
Yang Ming shares rose 3.68 percent to NT$35.25 in Taipei trading yesterday.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS