World News
Container Line OOCL Reports Just 0.4% Slip in Q1 Volumes Despite Pandemic
Container line OOCL saw just a 0.4% slip in its freight volumes in the first quarter, the company said last week, despite reports of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to sharply lower boxship demand worldwide.
The company carried a total of 1.598 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in the first quarter of this year, down from 1.606 million TEU in the same period a year earlier, OOCL said in an operational update.
Its intra-Asia/Australasia services saw the only decline, down by 4.5% on the first quarter of 2019, while trans-Atlantic volumes rose by 8.7% and trans-Pacific and Asia/Europe volumes both gained 2%, the company said.
"Keep in mind that the data includes the impact of the virus outbreak in China, but due to timing only includes a limited impact of the global pandemic spread," container industry consultant Lars Jensen wrote on his LinkedIn account Tuesday.
The company's average revenue per TEU appears to be rising because of the drop in bunker prices this year, Jensen, CEO of Seaintelligence Consulting, said.
"The rate level strength shows the resolve the carriers had during the China virus outbreak to prevent a rate collapse – a resolve which is still in place during the global pandemic," he said.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 655.50 | 2.00 | 808.50 | 4.50 |
| Rotterdam | 619.00 | 0.00 | 789.00 | 8.00 |
| Houston | 628.50 | 7.50 | 812.50 | 1.50 |
| Fujairah | 653.50 | 4.50 | 900.00 | 2.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 672.00 | 0.50 | 885.00 | 7.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 639.00 | 2.50 | 827.50 | 2.00 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 727.50 | 1.50 | 933.50 | 5.00 |
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