Neptune Orient Lines, Asia’s No. 3 container line, posted a third straight quarterly loss because of falling freight rates and higher fuel costs, reported Bloomberg.
The US$91.1 million ($113.9 million) loss in the three months to Sept. 23 compared with a profit of US$282.3 million a year earlier, the Singapore-based company said in a stock exchange statement today. Sales dropped 9% to US$2.21 billion.
Ng Yat Chung, who took over as chief executive officer on Oct 1, has to contend with excess capacity in the global fleet that caused the company’s average container rates to tumble 19% in the third quarter.
“It could get worse” because of rising US inventory levels, said Johnson Leung, head of regional transport at Jefferies Group in Hong Kong. “We can’t be sure when we will hit bottom.”
A US Census Bureau index of retail inventories reached 470.43 in August, the highest since December 2008.
APL, NOL’s container-shipping arm, moved 699,000 40-foot boxes in the third quarter, 7% more than a year earlier. Average revenue per box was US$2,539. The shipping line filled 94% of its vessels, compared with 97% a year earlier.
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