Chilean shipping giant CSAV has reduced its losses by 31.3 percent.
In the first quarter of 2013 the company made a loss of US$96 million, for the first quarter of 2014, that figure was $65.9 million.
Given that the company managed to reduce its losses 46 percent over the year from 2012-2013, it appears to be sailing steadily in the right direction.
However, when it’s taken into account that CSAV included a provision of $40m for antitrust investigations into breaches of free-market competition regulations in their car carrier arm, the loss recovery figures actually stay virtually static on the previous year.
This potentially signals a levelling out in the recovery process.
The news arises at a turbulent time for the shipping industry, with volatile freight rates and considerable overcapacity threatening the delicate balance of progression.
In an attempt to further solidify their position, CSAV signed a Memoriam of Understanding with Hapag-Lloyd, merging their container shipping arm of the industry with the German company in early 2014.
Tradewinds reports that the CSAV-Hapag Lloyd merger is set to only achieve a 5.6 percent market share, which means there’s a vast distance between the actual and projected market share of 30 percent.
There is cause for positivity at CSAV though, despite freight rates falling by 10.6 percent since the first quarter in 2013, the volume carried by the company rose by 1.8 percent in the same period.
Chief executive of CSAV, Oscar Hasbún, noted “In the context of a very complex freight rate scenario for the industry, our company continues to show a significant improvement in its cost structure, which allows us to absorb part of the freight reduction.”
