APL 2009 box volume off 7pc, but soars 43pc in Nov/Dec

SINGAPORE's Neptune Orient Lines has announced its container shipping arm APL handled 312,500 FEU over the six-week period from November 14 to December 25, an increase of 43 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier.

The bad news was that revenue per FEU fell 25 per cent year on year to US$2,189 per FEU during the reporting period.

"The improvement in volume was due to higher volumes on all major trade lanes. Lower average revenue per FEU was due to lower core freight rates, lower bunker recovery and changes in trade mix," a statement from NOL said.

For the whole of 2009, container shipping volumes shrunk by seven per cent to 2,288,700 FEU while average revenue per FEU declined 25 per cent to $2,286 per FEU against 2008.

Source: www.schednet.com