Higher rates lift OOCL transpacific revenues

Transpacific revenues up 26 percent in fourth quarter of 2018 on 6.1 percent volume growth.    Orient Overseas Container Line has reported results for the fourth quarter of 2018 that reflect higher volumes and freight rates, especially in the transpacific.
   2018 was an eventful year for Hong Kong-based OOCL with China COSCO Shipping Corp. acquiring OOCL’s parent company, Orient Overseas (International) Ltd.
   The company’s transpacific container liftings in the fourth quarter of 2018 were 501,275 TEUs, up 6.1 percent over the same period in 2017, but revenue amounted to $670 million, a 26 percent jump because of higher freight rates. For all of 2018, volumes in the transpacific were 1.97 million TEUs, up 8.9 percent from 2017, while revenue in the transpacific was $2.4 billion in 2018, a 17.9 percent increase over 2017.
   Overall, OOCL moved 1,715,609 TEUs in the fourth quarter of 2018, a 6.4 percent increase over the same period in 2017, and 6,696,919 TEUs in all of 2018, a 6.3 percent increase over 2017.
   OOCL had higher volumes on its Asia/Europe, Intra-Asia and Australasia routes. The company’s transatlantic volumes fell slightly in 2018, 0.9 percent.
   OOCL’s overall revenues in the fourth quarter 2018 were $1.57 billion, a 13.5 percent increase over the same 2017 period. For the full year 2018, OOCL had revenue of $5.96 billion, a 9.9 percent increase.