NOL announces fall in container profits

Singapore: Cargo transport and logistics giant Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has seen a 51% decrease in profits to US$ 314 million for the first three quarters of 2006 against the same period last year. Dr Thomas Held, who replaced David Lim as group president and ceo for NOL this week, attributed the fall to challenging market conditions such as lower freight rates and higher fuel prices for its container subsidiary APL which saw a reduced revenue of US$127m in the third quarter despite a 9% increase in container traffic. Other major container lines such as Evergreen Marine, A.P. Moeller-Maersk and Hapag Lloyd are expected to declare similar decreases due to these difficult market conditions exacerbated by the predicted tonnage boom over the next few months.  [03/11/06]