TAIWAN's Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (Yang Ming) saw profits from its container sector hit by the negative impact of the coronavirus on the dry bulk market resulting with the company incurring a loss of US$2.25 million for the second quarter of 2020.

However, as the charter rates are rising, the Baltic Dry Index is now posting gains, the recovering market will significantly improve its dry bulk business' performance from the fourth quarter, said the line. Yang Ming also intends to redeliver chartered tonnage including three vessels by the second quarter of 2021 and the remaining four long-term chartered vessels from 2022 through to 2025.

Yang Ming stated that it benefitted from strong freight rates and relatively low fuel costs, reporting an improving quarterly result in its container transport business, generating a positive operating profit of $18.64 million, despite the box volumes was decreased by 15 per cent, reports UK's Container News.

For the first half of the year, the company's consolidated revenues were down by approximately 12 per cent compared with the same period in the previous year to US$2.2 billion. Additionally, the company saw a reduction in its business volume of approximately 10 per cent to 2.38 million TEU, while its 2020 H1 net loss was $29.49 million.

Yang Ming aims to efficiently control its operating costs, such as optimising container flows to minimise container repositioning cost, feeder/inland transport and fuel consumption reduction, anticipating better performance in the container transport sector in the third quarter.

Moreover, Yang Ming has accelerated its fleet optimisation plan by adding fourteen 11,000 TEU chartered vessels and ten 2,800 TEU self-owned newly built vessels starting 2020. These new vessels with higher engine efficiency will achieve the advantages of lowering fleet average age and fuel cost savings, and consequently enhance the company's long-term competitiveness.