Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines, the world's sixth-biggest container shipping line, carried 13 percent more cargo on its ships in June than a year earlier, it said on Monday, helped by a global trade boom fuelled by China. Neptune Orient Lines Ltd (NOL) said in a statement its container shipping arm APL transported 156,600 40-foot equivalent units (FEUs) between June 4 and July 1.
Average revenue per container rose 7 percent to $2,867 in the same period compared with a year ago.
Supported by China's export boom and a tight supply of ships world-wide, prices for container shipments have swelled, benefiting state-controlled NOL - Singapore's biggest shipping firm - and others such as Taiwan's Evergreen Marine and Denmark's Maersk Sealand
Investors have been increasingly cautious about shipping stocks amid recent talk of a peak in the cycle as freight rates for dry bulk shippers have fallen.
But NOL said in a statement it saw "continued strong demand growth" in the container business.
NOL said revenues in its logistics business, which it has identified as a growth business to lessen its dependence on economic cycles in shipping, rose 8 percent to $67.3 million in contract logistics and 34 percent to $34.7 million in international services.
Shares in NOL, which operates about 100 ships, have gained about 21 percent since the start of the year, but are about 13 percent below their March peak.