MOL’s containership business moves into a counteroffensive year

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (Japan): Containership business shows a significant deficit and is upgrading the fleet with 20,000 TEU vessels

The containership division of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) is showing a significant deficit for this fiscal term 2014 due to lower freight rates on Asia-South America East Coast routes, along with delays in the work to fully automate the U.S. terminal, despite increasing cargo volume, mainly on the East-West trade and considerable improvement in the business environment. This was announced in MOL President Koichi Muto’s „2015 New Year Message“. “I think many of you may be worried about our containership business. And the fact is, in terms of competitiveness and earnings strength within the industry, we are somewhat behind,” he said.

In this case MOL has already taken steps to reform the business, such as upgrading the fleet with the world’s largest containership – 20,000TEU – to make it more cost competitive. With global economic expansion, containerized cargo trade is certain to keep growing so the containership business, including container terminals, represents a growth opportunity. The true value of the company is determined how we can add value that our customers will appreciate, and come up with ways to enhance cost competitiveness.

“There is still a lot of room to improve profitability with advancement of operations and yield management. Management and employees in the containership division need to objectively analyze our competitiveness and sales capabilities, and put every effort into restoring profitability as the key objective. This is the critical point. Now is the time to be tenacious, and move forward,” Koichi Muto added.

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