China Shipping sustains near $400 million loss

   China Shipping Container Lines suffered a $397.9 million operating loss in 2011, a huge downward swing from the $676.5 million the line made in 2010.
   China Shipping’s revenue fell 18.9 percent year-on-year to $4.5 billion, while container volume rose 3.2 percent to 7.4 million TEUs.
   The line, the second biggest in China and eighth biggest globally by fleet capacity, saw its debts rise 18.1 percent from the end of 2010 to the end of 2011 to $3.6 billion.
   China Shipping said due to “stagnant macroeconomic environment, growth in demand for container transportation slowed down and the global shipping market remained sluggish. Together with concentrated delivery of additional shipping capacity during the period, the shipping market contributed further to supply-demand imbalance. Furthermore, the shipping companies also faced increased operating costs due to persistently high fuel price.”
   Looking forward, the line said “the shipping transportation market will continue to be affected by the global economy and international trade as numerous uncertainties continue to exist. Euro zone countries will pick up slowly as risks from the sovereign debt crisis remain while the U.S. economy is expected to recover steadily and therefore stimulate trading demand. Moreover, stronger market demand will come from the Southern Hemisphere, which will serve as the driver for higher trading volume. Meanwhile, we will continue to see the pressure arising from oversupply over a longer period, as a result, the shipping companies will continue to cooperate with each other.”