Shanghai: China Shipping Container Lines Company will cut capacity for the first time this year as sea-cargo slows amid the global recession, Bloomberg reports. China's second-biggest container carrier plans to reduce capacity by four per cent by returning leased vessels, chairman Li Shaode said.?The shipping line slumped to its first half-year loss since listing in 2004 in the second half as US and European consumers pared spending on Asian-made goods amid the recession. ?The company's expects sales this year to fall 15 per cent, it said in a Shanghai stock exchange statement Friday.?"2009 is a critical year," Li said. "Whether we can walk out from the bottom of this valley depends on the global economy and trade."?The company plans to raise rates from next month to pare losses, managing director Huang Xiaowen said.?The increases include as much as an extra $350 (Dh1,285) on Asia-Europe routes and as much as $550 on trans-Pacific routes, which would raise rates to about $1,700, he said. The company may seek further increases in June, he said. [31/03/09]
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