BMI View: During the course of ----, we expect the Japanese shipping industry to register steady y-o-y gains across the country s main ports, with the port of Tokyo and the port of Nagoya to be the outperformers over the next -- months in box and tonnage throughput terms respectively. Underpinning our forecasts for ---- is the fact that, on the face of it, Japan s external sector has been a major pillar of strength over the past -- months. ...Underpinning our forecasts for ---- is the fact that, on the face of it, Japan s external sector has been a major pillar of strength over the past -- months. Exports have grown by roughly -- in local currency terms, amid a general global trade slowdown, and the trade account has recovered back to close to balance after recording a whopping JPY-.-trn trade deficit at its trough in mid-----. The weakening of the yen appears to be bearing fruit in this sense. ...Underlining a trend that will be sobering for Japan s shippers is the fact that exports to China declined -.- y-o-y during the month, down for a second straight month owing to falling shipments of light oil and car parts. On the plus side, exports to the US grew --.- y-o-y, supported by brisk shipments of cars, which provides welcome news to Japan s shipping industry and highlights a key export market.
...Main Shippers Fail To Meet Financial Forecasts: The three largest shippers in Japan missed their forecasted revenues in the last quarter, underlining the headwinds the sector faces in the country. Although NYK Line and K Line saw positive growth in revenue, MOL slipped into the red. The company blamed the loss on the collapse of Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha, which accounted for JPY--.-bn. South Korea, China, Japan Hold Trilateral Summit: South Korean President Park Geun-hye held talks with Chinese and Japanese premiers Li Keqiang and Shinzo Abe in the capital Seoul on November -, reported AFP, which could prove fruitful for Japanese shippers going forward should trade links be strengthened as a result. The trilateral summit is the first to be held between the countries in more than three years, after the leaders agreed to set aside regional hostilities. The talks focused on various topics, such as free trade and the threat of North Korea s nuclear weapons programme. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the three leaders stated that they have completely restored trade and security ties, and also agreed to resume trilateral meetings on an annual basis, with the next summit to be held in Japan in ----.
...---- port of Nagoya tonnage forecast to grow by -.-- to reach ---.--mn tonnes, up slightly from ---- s estimated contraction of -.-- . Box traffic at the same port will grow by -.-- in ---- to -.--mn twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) up from estimated -.-- growth in the preceding year. ...
