Samudera Shipping Line has seen a sizeable decline in freight rates for the first quarter of 2024 compared with a year ago.
The Singapore-listed Asian feeder operator said average revenue per teu fell to $244 against the $371 per teu seen 12 months earlier, in a market update released Tuesday.
The Indonesian shipowner also reported a sizeable decline in the volume of containers handled in the first quarter versus that of the fourth quarter which was down 23% to 433,000-teu.
“The first quarter is traditionally lower compared to the fourth quarter due to seasonal factors,” Samudera said. “However, the volume in the first quarter of was relatively stable compared to a year ago.”
“Freight rates have been trending down since early 2023 as seen in the lower average revenue per teu. This negatively impacted on operating margins,” it added.
Samudera said the operating environment has also been challenging, partly due to port congestion resulting in longer turnaround times.
Last week, TradeWinds reported that members of the Asian Feeder Discussion Group (AFDG) had introduced an emergency cost recovery surcharge to counter rising operating costs brought on by port congestion.
Ports in South East Asia have been experiencing “above average utilisation” since the beginning of the year due to disruptions caused by the crisis in the Red Sea.
The surcharges range from $40 per teu to $100 per teu one way and are applicable for all laden and empty containers, however, the latter will be charged at 50% of the laden rate.
Samudera also continues to increase the size of its tanker and gas tanker fleet as it looks to provide some stability in revenue against the volatility of the liner markets.
In March, the company took delivery of the first of two ethylene gas carriers, the 5,820-cbm Sinar Ternate (built 2009), which were bought in late December 2023.
Last week the company took delivery of the second of the vessels, the 5,490-cbm Sinar Tidore (built 2010). Both vessels were acquired from gas shipowner Seapeak in an en-bloc deal worth $6.3m per ship.
