Singapore's state-owned shipping company Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has reported a 37 percent growth in container volume in the four weeks to March 5.
The carrier said it moved an equivalent of 189,100, 40-foot containers on its vessels in the period, up from 137,800 a year earlier. Even the average revenue for each container rose by eight percent from a year ago to US$1,290 compared with a nine percent decline the report added, hinting of a possible recovery in the shipping sector. The improvement was due in part or whole to higher shipping volumes from the transpacific and intra-Asia trade routes as well as improvement in its core freight rates and higher.
Meanwhile, the carrier's logistics arm, APL Logistics, had commenced operations at a new custom-built container freight station (CFS) at Port Qasim in Pakistan. The company said that the move will help consolidate its operations over three locations into one dedicated centre.
Sammy Lee
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