While
container spot rates on the Asia-Europe and Asia-North America trades continued
to remain elevated, year on year, due to the Red Sea crisis, collapsing rates
on other trades continue to dent carriers’ earnings outlook.
Cosco-owned
OOCL today 12 April reported its operational update for first quarter, which
showed that despite the nascent recovery in pricing since Yemen’s Houthi rebels
began attacking commercial shipping,
trades that remain unaffected by Cape of Good Hope diversions continue to show
considerable weakness.
The Hong
Kong-headquartered carrier said Q1 revenues decreased 9% year on year, to
$1.98bn, and average revenue per teu decreased 12%, while liftings increased
3.4% and its loadable capacity increased 2.2%.
There was
a huge variation across its four main trades – transpacific, Asia-Europe,
transatlantic and intra-Asia, which remains its largest trade in terms of
volume. Q1 liftings were flat on the transpacific, at 450,000 teu, and down
7.5% on Asia-Europe, to 360,000 teu.
However,
total revenues for these trades grew 13% and 0.8% respectively, indicating the
January surge in freight rates as vessel diversions and pre-Chinese New Year
demand pushed rates up.
Meanwhile,
despite an 11.3% increase in volumes on intra-Asia/Oceania routes, to 863,000
teu, OOCL saw a 17.4% decline in revenue, and the situation was even worse on
the transatlantic, where a 2.1% growth in volumes was accompanied by a 50.6%
decline in revenue.
However,
this week’s spot freight data from may give transatlantic carriers grounds for
cautious optimism: the Xeneta XSI index recording a 3% increase in westbound
spot rates, to $1,993 per 40ft; while Drewry’s WCI has the trade declining by
1%, to $2,244.
“Drewry expects a minor decrease in
transpacific spot freight rates, whereas transatlantic and Asia-Europe head
towards stability in the coming weeks,” the UK-based analyst said in its weekly pricing
report.