Following recent news of the worsening market conditions, caused by overcapacity, low freight rates and the weak demand, Orient Overseas Container Line has seen cargo volumes soar in Q2, 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, with revenues seeing a sharp decline, according to JOC.com.
Volumes increased to more than 1.5 million TEU in Q2, 2016 compared to the more than 1.4 million TEU seen in Q2, 2015.
PTI previously reported that OOCL are set to charge big for container weighing. The response for container weighing has so far been negative, as shippers dispute the high fees charged by forwarders and carriers to declare the VGM of containers.
Technical Paper: Tackling the Biggest Alliances
OOCL recently signed an agreement with CMA CGM, Evergreen Line and Cosco to form the Ocean Alliance, which is due to come into operation in April, 2017 for an initial period of five years.
Carriers have been consolidating resources in a bid to tackle the challenges in a saturated market, with the most recent formation being Hapag Lloyd with UASC, as well as Hyundai Merchant Marine’s decision to join Maersk and MSC in 2M.
The current capacity of the Ocean Alliance is at around 3.5 million TEU with a total of approximately 350 vessels. The total number of ships in THE Alliance is significantly more, at a total of more than 620 ships.