HMM Asia-US volumes up 67% in April
Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has registered a 67% year-on-year increase in April handling volumes for its Asia-US routes.
The South Korean shipowner announced that volumes for its Asia-US routes rose to 17,932 teu per week in April from 10,733 teu per week in the same month of 2016, MANA correspondent reported.
For the Asia-US West Coast (USWC) route in particular, HMM saw volumes rose 73% year-on-year to 13,186 teu per week in April from 7,604 teu per week in the year-ago period.
The container carrier said its volumes for Asia-US routes started climbing since it formed strategic cooperation with container alliance 2M of Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) in April. The disappearance of Hanjin Shipping from the Asia-US trade route since it was declared bankrupt in February this year also created a gap in demand for other carriers like HMM to take on, allowing the improvement to its handling volumes.
“We expect gradual improvements in profitability, since we’re heading into the peak season with higher volumes,” a HMM official said.