NEPTUNE Orient Lines (NOL) hopes to launch a new fixed-day weekly service with Hapag-Lloyd and NYK in April, linking the Far East, the United States and Europe using 12 pooled 2,700 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels.
Despite mixed financial results, NOL is still continuing to expand. The company's turnover rose by 9.2 per cent to S$761.27 million (about HK$3.58 billion) in the first half of last year compared with $697.24 million in 1991.
However, pre-tax profit for the period was down 18.1 per cent, from $30.11 million to $24.65 million.
NOL's AEX service provides transit times of 21-22 days from Singapore to New York.
This matches very closely the transit times of the best mini-land bridge carriers - that is, shipping companies that provide sea transport followed by land transport - yet requires less cargo handling which vastly reduces the possibility of damage through mishandling.
