Neptune Orient Lines, the world's sixth-biggest container liner, in January recorded the first decline in the number of containers carried on its ships in two-and-a-half years in the latest sign that the shipping industry is heading for a downturn.
Singapore state-controlled NOL said in a statement on Monday that its container shipping arm APL carried 211,200 40-foot units (FEUs) on its ships between December 31 and February 10, down 2 percent from a year ago.
Average revenue per container fell 2 percent to $2,745 in the same period compared with a year ago.
The last time NOL recorded a decline in container volume was in July 2003, when it declined 2 percent to 119,000 boxes, while average revenue per container jumped 27 percent to $2,664.
NOL and rivals such as Maersk Sealand and Evergreen Marine have benefited from surging freight rates on strong global demand for cheap textiles, toys and other goods from China. But the industry faces a slowdown as the supply of container ships is set to exceed demand this year.
NOL, controlled by Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek, last week prepared investors for a slide in profits this year, after a slump in quarterly earnings profits due to a jump in fuel costs.
NOL said revenues in its logistics business, which it has identified as a growth business to lessen its dependence on economic cycles in shipping, rose 15 percent to $102.2 million in contract logistics and 12 percent to $46.9 million in international services in the period.
NOL plans to invest $60-$70 million in a railway freight service running between Mumbai and New Delhi over the next two years, giving it a foothold in the domestic freight market of Asia's third-largest economy.
Shares in NOL, which operates around 100 ships, have lost 6.5 percent in value since the start of the year and are trading more than a quarter below their March 2005 peak.
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