China Shipping’s first-quarter revenue jumps 39%

China Shipping’s first-quarter revenue jumps 39%    China Shipping Container Lines said its first quarter revenue jumped 39 percent to 6.2 billion Renminbi ($752 million), from RMB4.5 billion in the first quarter of 2004, as volumes and freight rates continued to rise.
   The Chinese carrier shipped 1 million TEUs in the first quarter, 27 percent more than in the same quarter of 2004, and saw average revenue per TEU rise 10 percent to RMB6,080 ($735) year-on-year in the latest quarter.
   “We are pleased to see a continually strong demand for container spaces during the first quarter of 2005,” Reuters reported China Shipping chairman Li Kelin as saying.
   The expansion-minded Chinese shipping line will take delivery of 20 new containerships of 4,000 to 8,500 TEU capacities this year. “By the end of 2005, the group’s fleet capacity is expected to increase to 347,895 TEUs, representing an increase of 36.9 percent from the beginning of the year,” the Chinese carrier said in a statement.