THE Manila-Korea container trade soared 44.5% in the first four months of the year, according to latest data from the Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL).
AISL member lines plying the Manila-Korea route carried 5,182 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for January to April this year from 3,585 TEUs in the same period last year. The results are way better than the 6.68% growth registered for the Manila-China trade and the almost 3% decline in the Manila-Japan trade for the same period.
As can be expected, Korean shipping line KMTC was the leading carrier in the route, handling 24.6% of the trade or 1,275 TEUs, up 161.8% from last year’s 487 TEUs.
Taiwanese carrier Evergreen Marine Corp emerged as the second top shipping line with 1,061 TEUs or 136.3% higher than the 449 TEUs handled in January to April 2009.
In third place was Hanjin Shipping, which had a market share of 18.7% or 971 TEUs, 166% more than last year’s 365 TEUs.
Coming in fourth was Hyundai Marine Co. It carried 16.1% of the trade or 836 TEUs, 9.86% greater than the 761 TEUs in the same period last year.
In fifth place was China-based SITC Container Lines. It accounted for 6.75% of the trade at 350 TEUs, an increase of 186.9% from the same period last year’s 122 TEUs.
Occupying the sixth spot was TS Lines, which shipped 3.8% of the total at 198 TEUs from 10 TEUs while another Korean carrier Heung-A Shipping Co was in seventh place after handling 3.7% of the trade at 191 TEUs from 156 TEUs.
In eighth, ninth and tenth place were Regional Container Lines, NYK Shipping Lines and Sinotrans carrying 84 TEUs, 74 TEUs and 45 TEUs, respectively.
In the reefer trade, Korean carriers KMTC, Hanjin and Hyundai ruled the market carrying 31 TEUs in the first four months of the year against 2 TEUs in the same period last year, 5 TEUs vs 4 TEUs, and 4 TEUs from 13 TEUs, respectively.
