Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) yesterday said it expects sea cargo rates to improve in the second and third quarters from the first quarter, and that rates for long-term contracts would be better than spot rates.
The decline in freight rates has slowed since the Lunar New Year holiday and the rates for some Asian markets have even started to rebound, Wan Hai president Tommy Hsieh (謝福隆) told an investors’ conference.
The shipper expects the US market to return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels this year. Demand in the US market would start to pick up in the third quarter, as most clients are still digesting inventories, Hsieh said.
Photo: CNA
To boost demand during the slow season, the container shipper is offering customized services to attract clients, he said.
“The outlook for the North American market would be clearer later this month after we finish negotiating with some of our large retail clients and sign contracts,” he said.
Despite the downtrend, Wan Hai expects rates of newly signed long-term contracts to be higher than spot rates, as clients would be willing to pay more to secure capacity and ensure stable transportation, he said.
The company’s plans to use its larger vessels for its operations on the east and west coasts of the US, while its medium-sized or small vessels would be deployed in the Asian and Middle Eastern markets, the company said.
Wan Hai yesterday reported its freight rates for four markets — the US, South America, Middle East and India — as well as intra-Asian markets in the fourth quarter last year.
FREIGHT RATES
The rates for the US and South America both fell below US$2,000 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), compared with their peak of above US$6,000 in the first quarter last year and the fourth quarter of 2021 respectively, corporate data showed.
Meanwhile, the rates for the Middle East and India slid from a peak of about US$3,000 per TEU in the fourth quarter of 2021 to about US$1,000 per TEU in the fourth quarter last year, while intra-Asian rates remained comparatively low, the data showed.
Responding to an investor’s question on whether Wan Hai could report net quarterly losses this year following its net loss of NT$40 million (US$1.31 million) in the fourth quarter of last year, Hsieh said that the company would not provide forecasts.
Asked about the company’s plan to distribute a low cash dividend of NT$5 after posting earnings per share of NT$33, Hsieh said that the company plans to buy new vessels to boost its fuel efficiency and reduce its average fleet age.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS