MOL: SOME LINER OPERATORS “MAY NOT SURVIVE”

MOL: SOME LINER OPERATORS “MAY NOT SURVIVE”

MOL: SOME LINER OPERATORS “MAY NOT SURVIVE”

   Kunio Suzuki, president of the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines group, warned that several container-shipping lines without the benefit of income from other activities might not survive the current downturn.
   International competition in liner shipping has drastically strengthened since 1998, Suzuki said.
   “Many other liner operators around the world also find themselves in the red, like MOL,” he said in a message to employees of the group.
   “Some of our competitors may not survive this difficult period,” Suzuki said. Yet, because of the diversification of the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines group in several business fields, the company is “much stronger than other shipping companies.”
   Besides its container shipping business, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is active in bulk shipping, car carrier transport, logistics and other activities. Container shipping represents less than 50 percent of the group’s revenue.
   Mitsui O.S.K. Lines recently scaled down its profit forecast for its fiscal year ended March 13.
   “Although the sluggish dry and tankers markets are partly responsible for our poor prospects, the biggest factor is the declining performance of the liner business,” Suzuki said.