HONG KONG's Orient Overseas (International) Ltd, parent of OOCL, has posted a 10 per cent increase in fourth quarter container volume year on year to 1.4 million TEU, but revenue per TEU fell 6.3 per cent in 2013.

Full year volumes increased 1.5 per cent to 5.29 TEU while revenues fell 4.9 per cent to US$5.6 billion.

Asia-Europe revenues declined 6.7 per cent while falling two per cent on the transpacific.

Intra-Asia and Australasia trades posted the biggest gains with volumes rising 15.7 per cent year on year generating revenues of $530.7 million, up two per cent, the only area in which sales gains were made.

Intra-Asia and Australasia was OOCL's biggest single revenue source, generating $2 billion last year against $1.9 billion in the transpacific and $1 billion for Asia-Europe.

Rapid volume growth set against a mild rise in revenues suggests that capacity build-up in the intra-Asia trades has continued as larger ships dominate the Asia-Europe trades, commented Lloyd's List.

Commented American Shipper: "OOCL is one of the best performing carriers in the container business. It had an operating profit in five of the six years between 2007 and 2012, losing money only in 2009, when all the major container carriers did."

Last year, American Shipper's annual Who's Making Money survey ranked OOCL as having the second highest cumulative operating profit from 2007 to 2012 among the 15 top container carriers.