CSAV’s February volume plummets to 29-month low

   The liner carrier CSAV said this week its container volume in February was the lowest of any month since September 2009.
   CSAV handled 161,300 TEUs in February, a 40.8 percent year-on-year drop. In the last four-plus years, only the first nine months of 2009 saw lower volume than in February.
   The line has retrenched capacity over the past year on a number of trades, fostering partnerships with CMA CGM and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (in which it has predominantly takes slots only) and shedding a large part of its chartered capacity.
   The line, which has struggled financially in the last five years, ramped up its fleet capacity significantly from mid-2009 to mid-2010, rising to become the seventh largest operator in the world at one point. Since then, it has fallen back to the 18th spot, according to maritime analyst Alphaliner.
   Despite the falling volumes, CSAV has managed to gradually increase its average rate per TEU. In February, the average rate was $1,667 per TEU, 5.9 percent higher than in February 2011, and the highest it’s been in the month since 2008. Still, February rates were 7 percent lower than in December, and 17.2 percent lower than the high-water mark in 2010 (September). — Eric Johnson