Uncertainties remain for the global shipping market next quarter, even though freight rates on the main east-west routes have stopped declining this quarter, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) told an online investors’ conference yesterday.
“The global market is still affected by high inflation, overcapacity and interest rate hikes, while the issue of supply-demand imbalance remains,” Yang Ming Marine Transport said in a document released after the conference.
Citing forecasts made last month by maritime research consultancies Drewry, Alphaliner and Clarksons, it said that “supply will exceed demand from this year to next year.”
Photo courtesy of Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp
Other challenges included China’s weak export performance, and the US and European markets entering their slow season next quarter, said the company, which is the nation’s second-largest container shipper by fleet size.
A count this month showed that Yang Ming Marine Transport has 93 vessels in its fleet with a combined capacity of 705,614 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), making it the world’s ninth-largest container shipper.
Shipping companies had a windfall in the past two years thanks to a surge in demand for consumer goods and freight rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, but demand has waned this year, leading to a slump in global shipping.
Yang Ming Marine Transport reported cumulative revenue of NT$95.69 billion (US$2.99 billion) in the first eight months of this year, down 66.77 percent from the same period last year.
Net profit in the first half plunged to NT$3.27 billion from NT$116.11 billion in the first half of last year, company data showed.
Earnings per share were NT$0.94 in the first half, compared with NT$33.25 a year earlier, the data showed.
While cargo volume has increased this quarter compared with the first half, European and American routes are not as robust as in previous peak quarters, which the company attributed to a slowing global economy and the still-weak recovery in demand.
Consumption during holiday shopping seasons in Europe and the US is key to the industry, Yang Ming Marine Transport said, adding that strong sales over Thanksgiving in the US and Christmas would help reduce inventory and might lead to a rebound in cargo volumes.
Yang Ming Marine Transport said that it does not have a clear picture about its business prospects for next year.
Although some other shippers are to receive new vessels next year, Yang Ming Marine Transport said its shipping capacity and route deployment would not change much next year, adding that it plans to acquire new vessels in 2026.
MANAGING RISKS: Taiwan has secured LNG sufficient to cover 95 percent of electricity demand for next month, UBS said, describing the government’s approach as proactive UBS Group AG has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent previously, and said expansion could reach as high as 8.6 percent if external energy shocks are avoided. The upgrade reflects a stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance and sustained momentum in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exports, which UBS said are providing a firm foundation for growth despite geopolitical and energy risks. Taiwan’s GDP expanded 13.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 1987, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Thursday. On a seasonally
Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights. Airlines are not waiting for a lack of supplies to react. “Travel alert: Airlines are cutting thousands of flights right now,” Travel Therapy host Karen Schaler said in an Instagram reel this past weekend.
Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) have repeatedly hit new highs, but an equity analyst said the stock’s valuation remains within a reasonable range and any pullback would likely be technical. The contract chipmaker’s historical price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio has ranged between 20 and 30, Cathay Futures Consultant Co (國泰證期) analyst Tsai Ming-han (蔡明翰) told Central News Agency. With market consensus projecting that TSMC would post earnings per share of about NT$100 (US$3.17) this year, supported by strong global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, and the stock currently trading at a P/E ratio of below 25, Tsai said the valuation
The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s business ecosystem. Just in the past week, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), as well as China’s Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co (德賽西威) and Pateo Connect Technology Shanghai Corp (博泰車聯) have become the latest to rally on news of tie-ups, supply-chain participation or product collaboration with the US chip designer. Asian suppliers account for about 90 percent of Nvidia’s production costs, up from about 65 percent last year, data compiled
RSS