Neptune Orient Lines, the world's sixth-biggest container liner, carried 3 percent more containers on its ships in the four weeks to May 5, after a decline earlier in the year.
Singapore state-controlled NOL said in a statement on Monday that its container shipping arm APL carried 157,100 40-foot units (FEUs) on its ships between April 8 and May 5, up from 152,600 units a year ago.
Average revenue per container declined 5 percent to $2,631 in the same period compared with a year ago.
In the January-February period, NOL suffered its first decline in the number of containers on its ships in two-and-a-half years, in a sign that the shipping industry is heading for a downturn.
NOL, controlled by Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek, in February prepared investors for a slide in profits this year after a jump in fuel costs led to a slump in fourth-quarter earnings.
NOL said revenues a growth business to lessen its dependence on economic cycles in shipping, fell 2 percent to $65.5 million in contract logistics and were down 5 percent at $26 million in international services in the four weeks to May 5.
NOL plans to invest up to $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.