Seafreight capacity battles to keep pace with demand

THE MOVEMENT of vehicles, particularly from Japan, has increased dramatically over the past few years, reflected in growing volumes carried by Mitsui OSK Lines, spokesman Yoko Onishi told FTW from the line’s Tokyo headquarters. “Since the major automobile production sites are located in the likes of Japan, Korea, China, India and many South East Asian countries and consumer markets in Europe, the Persian Gulf, South and West Africa are expanding rapidly, we believe that volumes will continue to grow.” This rapid trade growth does however sound warning bells in terms of capacity. “Right now the demand for space on our car carriers exceeds supply because of the sharp escalation in cargo volumes. “If the situation continues we may not be able to keep pace with trade growth, although we have taken positive action to expand our fleet over the past five years.” The automotive sector is a key focus for MOL, says Onishi, who believes flexibility of service gives it the edge. The line serves a range of trades on a range of routings, carrying cargoes for a range of customers. “We can therefore offer more frequent opportunities to customers moving vehicles by sea than many operators with larger fleets than ourselves.”