China Shipping’s average freight rate slips 14% in first quarter

China Shipping’s average freight rate slips 14% in first quarter    China Shipping Container Lines’ average first quarter freight rate dropped 14.3 percent to RMB5,212 ($651) per TEU from RMB6,080 per TEU, despite a double-digit increase to its global box volumes.
   The Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed carrier Friday reported a 22.7 percent increase to its first quarter container volumes, carrying 1.25 million TEUs, compared to 1.02 million TEUs in the same quarter 2005.
   First quarter revenue improved 5.2 percent to RMB6.55 billion ($818 million) compared to RMB6.22 billion in the same period last year.
   China Shipping’s largest revenue and volume increases came from the America market, which posted a 41.3 percent increase in revenue to RMB2.98 billion ($372 million) and a 33.9 percent jump in volume to 306,959 TEUs.
   Europe/Mediterranean services posted revenue of RMB2.14 billion ($267 million) down 11.1 percent despite a 23.9 percent rise in volumes to 338,696 TEUs.
   Revenue from China domestic services was up 2.1 percent to RMB513.3 million ($64 million) after a 32.8 percent increase in volumes to 422,653 TEUs,
   East and Southeast Asia trade revenue declined 27.3 percent to RMB339 million ($42 million) with volumes down 12.5 percent to 122,851 TEUs.
   Revenue from the Australia market slipped 11.1 percent to RMB264.7 million ($33 million) with volumes down 1.2 percent to 40,126 TEUs. The revenue from other unidentified trades declined 26.7 percent to RMB309.5 million ($39 million) although volumes increased 13.5 percent to 25,357 TEUs.
   During the quarter China Shipping received three 4,250-TEU ships, increasing its overall fleet capacity by 1.2 percent to 352,167 TEUs. The carrier is scheduled to receive four 9,580-TEU vessels and one 4,250-TEU ship by the end of the year.