Cost cuts seen for container shipping

WITH demand still expected to lag behind supply in the container shipping industry this year, cost reduction is tipped to be the main driver of profitability for liners.

To achieve cost efficiency, large carriers will likely form alliances to achieve economies of scale, industry players say.

They reckoned that the recovery in container shipping for the next 12 months is expected to be slow, owing largely to a disequilibrium in the market.

"This year will continue to be another challenging year for container shipping. We foresee global container demand to be higher than last year, but still in the range of 4-5 per cent, which is below the historic average," …