Manila-Japan box trade down 2.8% in first four months

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THE Manila-Japan container trade handled by member lines of the Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL) decreased 2.78% in the first four months of the year to 20,667 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), or 590 TEUs less than the 21,257 TEUs shipped in the same period last year.

Latest AISL data obtained by PortCalls showed Japanese carrier Tokyo Senpaku Kaisha, Ltd (TSK) dominating the dry cargo trade with a market share of 38.43% and carrying 7,943 TEUs from January to April this year, up 32.4% from the 5,997 TEUs handled in the same period in 2009.

Last year, TSK Line was also the top carrier in the route.

Second placer K-Line, another Japanese carrier, transported 3,656 TEUs, 4.14% lower than the 3,814 TEUs it shipped in the first four months of 2009, when it was also the number two carrier for the trade. K-Line accounted for 17.69% of the market for the period.

In third spot was yet another Japanese line, MOL which had a market share of 8.43% and handled 1,742 TEUs, a 24.26% drop from the 2,300 TEUs it carried last year. Despite the slide, MOL’s ranking this year was an improvement from last year’s fourth place.

Korean line KMTC came next with 1,733 TEUs, a 46.61% jump from the 1,182 TEUs it handled in January to April 2009, when it landed in sixth place.

Fifth-placer OOCL transported 1,669 TEUs, a 50.63% dive from the 3,381 TEUs it carried last year.

On OOCL’s heels was Taiwanese carrier Evergeen, which handled 1,605 TEUs, 5.53% less than the 1,699 TEUs posted last year.

In seventh spot was Heung-A, carrying 647 TEUs, down 26.22% from 877 TEUs in 2009, when it was also in seventh place.

Registering the most remarkable volume increase for the Manila-Japan trade was eighth-placer TS Lines, which shipped 599 TEUs, a whooping 3,227.78% growth from only 18 TEUs last year.

SITC Container Lines ranked ninth, posting a 45.76% rise in container volume from 236 TEUs last year to 344 TEUs this year. SITC’s current ranking was an improvement from its tenth place last year.

This year’s tenth-placer Hyundai carried 292 TEUs or a 55.89% drop from last year’s 662 TEUs.

Rounding up the top 15 carriers in the Manila-Japan trade are Hanjin Shipping (188 TEUs in the first four months of the year from 120 TEUs in the same period last year), Wan Hai (102 TEUs from 122 TEUs), Yang Ming (77 TEUs from 53 TEUs), Cosco (31 TEUs from 3 TEUs) and Cheng Lie (29 TEUs from 42 TEUs).

Reefer trade

In the Manila-Japan reefer trade, the top three carriers were also Japanese-owned.

K-Line transported 348 TEUs, 102.32% higher than the 172 TEUs it handled last year. TSK Line followed (102 TEUs from January to April 2010 vs 237 TEUs in the same period last year) then MOL (66 TEUs vs 114 TEUs.)

The other AISL member lines that participated in the reefer trade business for the first four months of the year were Evergreen, OOCL, KMTC, Cosco, TS Lines, Hanjin and Hyundai.