German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd reports that profits have increased more than 10-fold in the last nine months, citing record freight rates amid lack of transportation capacity and strong demand.
The fifth largest operator in the world said on November 12th Revenue report Its net income increased to $ 6.41 billion in the nine months from January to September 2021, up from $ 616 million in the 2020 comparison period.
The company attributed the surge in profits to higher freight rates, driven by “sustainably high demand for container transportation,” coupled with a lack of transportation capacity.
Average fares for the January-September 2021 period increased 66% per 20-foot equivalent standard container unit (TEU) to $ 1,818 compared to the same period last year.
“Despite all the operational challenges, we have achieved a very strong nine-month result,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. Said in a statementHe added that the global supply chain is “under tremendous pressure.”
“Unfortunately, this puts additional operational burden on carriers, ports and terminals, but most importantly for customers around the world,” said Jansen.
“Through targeted investment and flexible capacity management,” Jansen said, his company will do “everything with our power” to resolve log jams and other transportation bottlenecks at the port. Said.
In a call for revenue, Janssen told analysts that the more efficient it is, the shorter the waiting time at the port and the potential to reduce some of the supply growls.
“There’s still a lot we can do in terms of efficiency, not just on the terminal side, but also in our ability to deliver boxes to our customers,” Janssen said on the phone.
“It will allow us to get rid of some of the congestion,” he said in a coronavirus pandemic about unexpected surges in demand, labor shortages, and the turmoil that results from traffic congestion.
The Biden administration recently announced plans for billions of dollars to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks at the port as part of its efforts to address potential commodity shortages and price increases leading up to the holiday season. The plan includes harbor infrastructure grants for coastal navigation, inland waterways, and land ports of entry and acceleration of new construction projects.
Record volumes of shipping containers have been seen at major US ports, and some vessels are still waiting to dock. Coupled with a labor shortage, this led to higher costs for transporting goods and helped push inflation to decades high. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that annual consumer price inflation has skyrocketed by 6.2%, the highest number in almost 31 years.
A record number of cargo ships were seen this week in the waters off Southern California.
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Tom Ozimek has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communication, and adult education. The best writing advice he has ever heard is from Roy Peter Clarke.
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