![]() “I had hardly stepped into the president’s office when, spotting the documents, he asked me, ‘Do we really have to do this?’,” recalls Hsieh.Īfter Hsieh delivered a detailed explanation of the market situation, Chang agreed to go along, but he insisted that the vessels be leased and not bought. The Evergreen Marine management team concluded that joining an alliance was only a matter of time, and that larger vessels were needed to remain competitive.īronson Hsieh, who served as vice president at the time, worked hard to convince Chang Yung-fa that ordering large vessels was imperative. Against this backdrop, mega vessels would have been deemed too great a risk since a single operator would not have been able to load them to capacity during periods of low demand.īy 2011, however, alliances among ocean shipping companies were emerging. Ironically, the company founder was not into mega vessels at all.Ĭhang Yung-fa was known in the industry as a “lone wolf” because Evergreen did not join any industry alliances under his leadership. Another eight supersized container ships of the same class are slated to enter service before 2026. Meanwhile, Evergreen Marine has five 24,000-TEU mega vessels in service, which are expected to generate massive profits. ![]() At current freight rates, which stand at US$8,000 per TEU, the Ever Ace is recouping its manufacturing cost of US$140 million with just a single voyage. Last July, the Ever Ace, with a capacity of 24,000 TEU the largest container ship in the world, began to serve the Asia/Europe route. Thanks to a strategic reorientation toward mega vessels in recent years, the shipper was able to provide the container capacities needed to meet skyrocketing demand. High demand for westward routes was not the only factor boosting Evergreen Marine. From not ordering large vessels to ordering mega ships Evergreen Marine particularly profited from this trend more than others because Asia/America and Asia/Europe routes account for a high share of its overall business, and they are served with larger vessels than in the past. ![]() Therefore, westward shipping routes from Asia to North America and from Asia to Europe have been lucrative “golden” routes during the past 18 months as freight rates rose to record highs. “We serve many east-west shipping routes these are more sought-after,” notes Chang in explaining the company’s good fortunes.Īs Chang points out, Asia is the world’s factory, and exports its products worldwide. This means that Evergreen Marine is currently the ocean shipping company with the most profitable core business in the world. Moller – Maersk, achieved an EBITDA of just 44.4% in 2021. The world’s largest container shipper, Denmark-based A.P. Even my father has never seen anything like this I can call myself lucky,” says Evergreen Marine Chairman Chang Kuo-hua, the founder’s eldest son, not hiding his own astonishment.Įvergreen Marine is not the only ocean shipper making big money, but it outstripped its industry peers in terms of overall financial performance with an EBITDA of 64.1% last year. With these results, the shipping company became the second-most profitable company in Taiwan ahead of the world’s largest electronics assembler HonHai/Foxconn and second only to the world’s largest chip foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which reflects ocean shipments, has risen four-fold over the past two years.Įvergreen Marine last year recorded revenue growth of 136.3 percent, with net after tax profit jumping nine-fold to NT$239.02 billion. The disruption and restructuring of global supply chains due to the pandemic has been a boon for the container shipping industry. This is more than during an entire year in recession times. In the first quarter of 2022, however, Evergreen Marine raked in NT$100 billion, which amounts to NT$1.1 billion per day. Between 20, Evergreen Marine posted net profits of just NT$8.4 billion, which translates to a meager NT$800 million per year on average. But the global economy quickly tanked again. That year, Evergreen Marine made NT$15 billion. In 2010, the shipping industry staged a strong comeback after the financial crisis of 2007-2008.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |