Making a profit – despite Covid-19
The Japanese container shipping line ONE closed financial 2019 with a positive result. It made a loss in the previous year.
The container shipping line Ocean Network Express (ONE), which was formed in 2017 when NYK, MOL and K Line merged their container shipping activities, has been able to recover from the poor result it attained in 2018. In the financial year that runs from April 2019 to March 2020 the shipping line moved from the red into the black.
The corporation, which is headquartered in both Singapore and Tokyo, generated sales of nigh-on USD 12 billion in financial 2019. Its profit came to around USD 105 million, thanks also to three successful quarters in succession of the financial year. This was achieved despite some pressure in the first year of its business activities, also induced by the Chinese new year and government measures to contain the outbreak of Covid-19. In 2018 the line lost USD 586 million.
The consultancy Alphaliner’s figures rank the firm ONE as the sixth-largest shipping line worldwide; its total capacity comes to around 1.6 million teu.
Member of The Alliance
The fact that the corporation’s financial years run from April to March of the following year – as is the usual custom in Japan – means that a definite analysis of its performance in comparison with the situation of other shipping lines cannot yet be undertaken.
The fact that the shipping line is a member of The Alliance – together with Hapag-Lloyd, Yang Ming and HMM (which just came on board recently) – is a key aspect. According to Alphaliner, The Alliance manages more than 15% of global container capacities. It operates more than 615 ships and offers capacities of around 4 million teu. The Alliance said that its market share in the trans-Pacific trade comes to almost 30% and to around 23% in the Asia–Europe trade.
Of course the downturn arising from governments’ measures to contain the outbreak of Covid-19 has also hit The Alliance hard. The expected further container trade decline has forced the association to further adjust its schedules. Having already cancelled sailings, May and June will see the blanking or merger of additional services.
