Taiwan’s three listed freight forwarders yesterday reported annual growth in first-quarter revenue as freight rates remain high amid rising demand.
T3EX Global Holdings Corp (台驊國際投資控股) reported the largest increase, 133.16 percent to NT$5.89 billion (US$207.13 million), ahead of Dimerco Express Corp’s (中菲行) 66.4 percent growth to NT$6.89 billion and Soonest Express Co’s (捷迅) 35.69 percent expansion to NT$1.06 billion, data from the companies showed.
T3EX’s revenue generated from sea freight business advanced 208 percent from a year earlier to a record NT$3.86 billion in the first quarter, the company said.
Photo courtesy of Dimerco Express Corp
Sea freight business contributed 65 percent of the firm’s total revenue last quarter, up from 52 percent last year, it said.
The growth came as sea freight rates were buoyed by a shortage of containers and workers, unsolved congestion at ports and stronger-than-expected demand for freight transport, T3EX said in a statement.
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, which reflects spot freight rates on major routes that Shanghai is on, was above 2,500 points from January to last month, compared with the same period last year when it ranged from 900 to 1,000 points.
‘ADVANTAGE’
“When it is more difficult to book cargo space due to demand exceeding supply, we have an advantage over peers with smaller business scale, as we have a better connection with shippers,” T3EX said.
The air cargo forwarding business grew 57 percent to NT$1.3 billion in the first quarter, the company said.
It contributed 22 percent to the company’s total revenue, compared with 33 percent last year, as air cargo rates began to fall in February, it said.
The Baltic Exchange Air Freight Index showed that rates from Hong Kong to North America fell to US$5.48 per kilogram on average last month, down from US$6.43 per kilogram in January, while rates from Hong Kong to Europe fell from US$4.28 per kilogram to US$4.05 per kilogram.
AIR RATES
Air cargo rates would remain comparatively high in this quarter, as some customers might consider air amid a mismatch between sea cargo demand and supply, T3EX said.
Dimerco said that its revenue from air cargo forwarding grew 53 percent to NT$3.5 billion in the first quarter, while sales from sea cargo forwarding advanced 93 percent to NT$3 billion.
Dimerco and Soonest focus more on air cargo, with the former generating 51 percent of its first-quarter revenue from air cargo forwarding and the latter about 70 percent, data from the two firms showed.
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