Nippon Yusen may double scrapping of auto carriers
Nippon Yusen K.K., the world’s largest operator of car transport ships, may double the number of carriers it retires as Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. slash production. The carrier may scrap and park as many as 20 car carriers, on top of the 20 it is already planning to scrap by March 2010, Mikitoshi Kai, head of investor relations at the shipping line, said in an interview in Tokyo on Feb. 20.
“Every day we are asking auto manufacturers about their export plans for next year, but we have not yet received any figure,” he said.
Nippon Yusen predicts car exports will slump more than a third this quarter as the worst U.S. car market in 28 years forces Japanese manufacturers to reduce output. The country’s auto exports tumbled 34 percent in December, their biggest drop since records began in 1972.
Tighter lending and rising unemployment in the U.S., the world’s biggest auto market, led to a 37 percent decline in vehicle sales last month. Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, will slash domestic production 54 percent this quarter as demand plunges, and Nissan aims to cut 20,000 jobs as it trims output worldwide.
“Exports are doing very badly,” said Edwin Merner, president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo, which manages about $3.1 billion. “The carmakers have basically told the shippers, we don’t need you anymore.”
Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen last month slashed its forecast for the number of cars it will transport this quarter to 580,000 vehicles. That’s a 38 percent drop from the year-ago period.
‘Hasn’t Caught Up’
“Our reduction in capacity hasn’t caught up with the production cuts,” said Kai. “Next year we may transport 20 percent or 30 percent fewer cars compared with this year.”
Toyota’s output, excluding its Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. units, will drop to about 519,000 vehicles in the three months ending in March, compared with 1.13 million units a year ago, according to figures derived from Toyota’s latest full-year forecast.
Nippon Yusen last month slashed its net income forecast by 48 percent to 73 billion yen ($791 million) for the year ending March 31 amid slower demand for transport commodities, containers and cars. The shipping line is predicting a loss of 37 billion yen this quarter.
It had 113 car carriers at the end of March, and planned to add 39 new carriers by the end of March 2011. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Nippon Yusen’s biggest domestic rival, had 103 car carriers at the end of March.
Nippon Yusen fell 2.2 percent to 407 yen at the 3 p.m. close of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. It is down 25 percent this year.
“Every day we are asking auto manufacturers about their export plans for next year, but we have not yet received any figure,” he said.
Nippon Yusen predicts car exports will slump more than a third this quarter as the worst U.S. car market in 28 years forces Japanese manufacturers to reduce output. The country’s auto exports tumbled 34 percent in December, their biggest drop since records began in 1972.
Tighter lending and rising unemployment in the U.S., the world’s biggest auto market, led to a 37 percent decline in vehicle sales last month. Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, will slash domestic production 54 percent this quarter as demand plunges, and Nissan aims to cut 20,000 jobs as it trims output worldwide.
“Exports are doing very badly,” said Edwin Merner, president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo, which manages about $3.1 billion. “The carmakers have basically told the shippers, we don’t need you anymore.”
Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen last month slashed its forecast for the number of cars it will transport this quarter to 580,000 vehicles. That’s a 38 percent drop from the year-ago period.
‘Hasn’t Caught Up’
“Our reduction in capacity hasn’t caught up with the production cuts,” said Kai. “Next year we may transport 20 percent or 30 percent fewer cars compared with this year.”
Toyota’s output, excluding its Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. units, will drop to about 519,000 vehicles in the three months ending in March, compared with 1.13 million units a year ago, according to figures derived from Toyota’s latest full-year forecast.
Nippon Yusen last month slashed its net income forecast by 48 percent to 73 billion yen ($791 million) for the year ending March 31 amid slower demand for transport commodities, containers and cars. The shipping line is predicting a loss of 37 billion yen this quarter.
It had 113 car carriers at the end of March, and planned to add 39 new carriers by the end of March 2011. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Nippon Yusen’s biggest domestic rival, had 103 car carriers at the end of March.
Nippon Yusen fell 2.2 percent to 407 yen at the 3 p.m. close of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. It is down 25 percent this year.