Japanese shipping companies Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), K-Line and NYK Line have posted revenue increases in the six months from April to September, this year.
K-Line reported a 12 per cent growth in revenue to US$3.02bn; MOL saw a 7.8 per cent increase to US$3.53bn; and NYK saw a 12 per cent increase to US3.53bn in the first half of the 2015 financial year compared to the same period last year.
Despite increases in revenues, the shipping companies faced lower freight rates, congestions at ports and a shift towards larger ships on north-south routes causing an oversupply of smaller-sized vessels on other routes.
Vessel congestions at Asian ports was cited as one of the major challenges as well as the deployment of larger ships on North-South trade routes, particularly by MOL which said in a company statement that despite strong demand on its intra-Asian lines, vessel congestions at various ports in Asia led to a review of its operational plans.
NYK said that while its cargo volumes rose, its freight rates dropped “due to the delivery and deployment of ultra-large containers ships, mainly on European routes, which prompted a shift of older large vessels to other routes and cause a continued oversupply of vessels.”
Japan, Just Like China and Korea are now trading heavily with Africa and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and Trade includes Container Lines, Ro-Ro and Heavy Project Cargo.
