Nippon Yusen Kaisha. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Japan’s largest and third-largest shipping lines, forecast full-year losses as the recession in the U.S. and Europe slashed demand for transporting goods by container while bulk rates remained depressed.
Nippon Yusen expects a loss of 5 billion yen ($53 million) compared with an earlier forecast of net income 18 billion yen, it said in a statement today. K-Line, as Kawasaki Kisen is also known, forecast a loss of 31 billion yen compared with an earlier forecast of a profit of 6.5 billion yen.
The recession has choked demand for furniture, building materials and consumer electronics in the U.S. and Europe, driving down shipping rates. Nippon Yusen has slashed its fleet expansion by 15 percent and laid up container ships this year to stem declines in shipping rates as demand slumps.
Nippon Yusen expects a loss of 5 billion yen ($53 million) compared with an earlier forecast of net income 18 billion yen, it said in a statement today. K-Line, as Kawasaki Kisen is also known, forecast a loss of 31 billion yen compared with an earlier forecast of a profit of 6.5 billion yen.
The recession has choked demand for furniture, building materials and consumer electronics in the U.S. and Europe, driving down shipping rates. Nippon Yusen has slashed its fleet expansion by 15 percent and laid up container ships this year to stem declines in shipping rates as demand slumps.