Hapag-Lloyd first quarter sales down 23%

Hapag-Lloyd first quarter sales down 23%    Hapag-Lloyd saw a 22.9 percent drop in first quarter sales compared to the same period in 2008 due to falling volumes and freight rates.
   Hapag-Lloyd’s results were reported by German tourism company TUI AG on Monday. TUI spun Hapag-Lloyd off earlier this year but continues to hold a 43.33 percent stake in Albert Ballin Holding, the company that now owns Hapag-Lloyd.
   TUI said Hapag-Lloyd's sale created a “book profit” of 1 billion euro ($1.36 billion) in the quarter.
   Hapag-Lloyd had revenue of 1.12 billion euro ($1.53 billion) in the quarter ending March 30, a 22.9 percent drop from the same period in 2008.
   Container shipping moved 1.12 million TEUs of cargo in the first quarter, 15 percent less than in the same 2008 period. Declines were particularly steep on the transatlantic, down 19.2 percent. Volumes also declined 15.3 percent in the Far East/Asia lane, 10.5 percent in the transpacific, 11.1 percent in Latin America, and 17.8 percent in Australasia.
   Freight rates averaged $1,317 per TEU in the quarter, 14.4 percent less than in the same 2008 period. Freight rates fell particularly sharply in the trade between the Far East and Europe, down 36 percent to an average of $1,054 per TEU. Rates were actually up 3.5 percent on the transpacific to $1,564 per TEU. Rates fell 6.7 percent in the transatlantic, 10 percent in Latin America and 21.4 percent in Australasia.