Improving earnings through service reductions in response to demand fluctuations, the use of IT, and lower operating costs

「Against this business backdrop, the performance of OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS PTE. LTD., an equity-method affiliate of the Company, declined in both revenue and profit year on year.」

「In the container shipping business, firm cargo demand was observed, including a sharp increase in cargo movements to North America in July 2025 due to front-loaded demand ahead of the United States imposing reciprocal tariffs. However, short-term freight rates struggled to grow and declined through the end of September 2025 because of excess supply resulting from the continued large-scale delivery of new vessels. ONE will monitor changes in the situation, continue agile vessel deployment and efficient operations in line with demand, and work to operate its business steadily.」

「The performance of ONE, an equity-method affiliate of the Company, remained strong, supported by robust personal consumption and increased demand for tonnage due to the prolonged use of routes around the Cape of Good Hope arising from the situation in the Middle East and port congestion. Although freight market conditions have been trending downward since the Lunar New Year due to slower cargo movements and excess vessel supply, revenue and profit increased significantly year on year.」

「Cargo movements were strong as steady consumer spending in North America, front-loaded shipping demand due to concerns over strikes following the breakdown of labor negotiations on the U.S. East Coast, and the impact of the situation in the Middle East caused the increase in demand toward year-end in Europe to begin earlier than usual. Although the overall supply and demand environment softened toward the end of the second quarter, revenue and profit increased year on year.」

「The performance of ONE, an equity-method affiliate of the Company, declined substantially in both revenue and profit from the previous period. Although continued use of a route around the Cape of Good Hope due to the situation in the Middle East eased excess vessel capacity and led to some increase in short-term freight rates from the fourth quarter onward, short-term freight rates remained weak through the end of the third quarter because of sluggish cargo movements and supply pressure from new vessel deliveries.」

「In the container shipping business, short-term freight rates remained weak as supply and demand continued to soften amid sluggish consumer growth and increasing deliveries of new vessels. ONE, an equity-method affiliate of the Company, attempted to reduce costs by reducing winter sailings and rationalizing services, but reported a substantial decline in profit year on year.」

「In the container shipping business, cargo movements showed no strong recovery even after the peak season began, and the uptrend in short-term freight rates did not continue, partly because more new vessels were delivered. ONE, an equity-method affiliate of the Company, secured a profit by reducing sailings and rationalizing services, but reported a substantial decline in profit year on year.」

「The performance of ONE, an equity-method affiliate of the Company, was weak as short-term freight rates declined amid supply chain normalization and weak transportation demand. ONE will monitor the economic environment and work to operate its business steadily, including by responding agilely to changes in supply and demand.」

「The performance of ONE, an equity-method affiliate of the Company, remained strong in the first half owing to high freight rates. In the second half, short-term freight rates declined as vessel capacity recovered with supply chain normalization and transportation demand weakened, but performance remained strong for the full year, as it had in the previous year.」

「The performance of ONE, an equity-method affiliate of the Company, was weak from the third quarter onward as transportation demand and short-term freight rates declined amid rising inventories of goods in consumer markets, particularly in Europe and the United States, and weaker consumer sentiment due to inflation. However, supported by performance in the first half, earnings improved year on year. ONE will monitor the economic environment, respond to changes in supply and demand, and work to operate its business steadily.」

「Although current freight rates have softened as tight transportation supply and demand have eased, the performance of ONE, an equity-method affiliate of the Company, improved year on year as freight rates remained above the year-earlier level.」

「ONE will monitor the future economic environment and work to operate its business steadily while actively implementing measures to avoid supply chain disruptions.」

「In addition, the performance of OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS PTE. LTD., an equity-method affiliate of the Company, improved substantially, owing to agile operations to meet strong cargo demand and freight rates remaining at high levels. … The Product Logistics segment as a whole reported higher revenue and profit year on year.」

「In the container shipping business, supply chain disruptions are expected to continue in the fourth quarter, with seasonal factors such as the Lunar New Year also a concern, but we expect cargo movements to remain firm. ONE will actively implement measures to avoid supply chain disruptions, monitor the future economic environment and work to operate its business steadily.」

「In the container shipping business, we expect robust transportation demand to continue in the second quarter. ONE will continue efforts such as deploying additional vessels and improving operations to avoid supply chain disruptions.」

「In the fourth quarter, demand was tight across all routes, including the Europe routes in addition to the North America routes. ONE continued efforts to alleviate disruptions by deploying additional vessels and improving operations, while freight rates remained high amid surging short-term market rates, resulting in a substantial improvement in earnings from the previous quarter.」

「ONE's earnings increased year on year, reflecting the benefits of agile operations to meet robust demand, as well as freight rates remaining at high levels.」

「Although global cargo volumes declined year on year due to the spread of COVID-19, OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS PTE. LTD., an equity-method affiliate of the company, deployed vessels in line with cargo volumes, while freight market conditions remained firm. Efforts to improve profitability, including the benefit of lower fuel oil prices and a review of the cargo portfolio, also contributed to higher profit year on year.」

「Although global cargo volumes declined due to the spread of COVID-19, OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS PTE. LTD., an equity-method affiliate of the company, worked to improve profitability by implementing flexible capacity reductions in line with demand, reducing operating expenses through optimal operations and reviewing its cargo portfolio. As a result, profit increased year on year, and the container shipping business as a whole returned to profit.」

「The performance of OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS PTE. LTD., an equity-method affiliate of the company, improved profitability through measures including recovery in lifted volume and vessel utilization, improved long-term contract freight rates in North America, an improved cargo portfolio, and lower operating expenses through route restructuring and rationalization. As a result, revenue increased year on year and the company returned to profit.」

「The performance of OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS PTE. LTD., an equity-method affiliate of the company, improved profitability through measures including recovery in lifted volume and vessel utilization, improved long-term contract freight rates in North America, an improved cargo portfolio, and lower operating expenses through route restructuring and rationalization. As a result, revenue increased year on year and the company returned to profit.」

「Global network reorganization, organizational reforms and IT system development have progressed since the integration of the container shipping business. However, costs increased as the logistics business was strengthened after the integration, resulting in higher revenue but lower profit for the logistics business as a whole year on year.」

「The Group steadily pursued measures to improve profitability, including ongoing cost reductions, more efficient vessel deployment and a review of operating expenses, but revenue declined year on year and performance deteriorated due to higher fuel oil prices and increased one-time costs incurred during the transfer associated with the integration of the container shipping business.」

「The company's own factors totaled ¥44.9 billion, comprising ¥25.3 billion in the impact of provisions for losses related to the business reorganization of the container shipping business recorded in fiscal 2016 and structural reforms centered on dry bulk vessels in the irregularly operated specialized vessel business carried out in fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016, together with ¥19.6 billion in cost reductions centered on the container shipping business.」

「In this environment, the Group provided full support for the planned launch of OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS in April 2018 and worked to improve profitability by building strong competitiveness and service quality through the realization of synergies from increased scale.」

「Under The Alliance, which the Group newly joined in fiscal 2017, the Group worked to strengthen its earnings structure through detailed cost management, including reducing operating costs through optimal vessel deployment and lowering equipment costs by improving the balance between westbound and eastbound voyages through the use of systems. At the same time, it proceeded with preparations for the integration of the liner container shipping businesses of 3 Japanese shipping companies into an integrated company scheduled to begin service in April 2018.」

「The Group implemented ongoing cost reductions and worked on measures to improve profitability, including more efficient vessel deployment.」

「The Group worked to improve profitability through measures such as more efficient vessel deployment and lower operating costs, including ongoing cost reductions, but performance deteriorated year on year.」

「The company will deploy vessels at the alliance level in line with demand, strengthen efforts to acquire high-margin cargo, including frozen and refrigerated cargo, and pursue more detailed cost reductions to improve profitability.」

「The company will adjust vessel deployment at the alliance level in line with changes in supply and demand, strengthen efforts to acquire high-margin cargo, including refrigerated and frozen cargo, and work to improve profitability through more detailed cost-reduction initiatives, including optimizing empty-container inventories and repositioning expenses.」

「Against this business backdrop, in the container shipping business, freight rates on European routes, where capacity has declined year on year, have shown signs of recovery since the second quarter as cargo volumes recovered, and are expected to continue trending toward recovery in the second half. We will continue to strengthen detailed cost-saving initiatives, including flexible capacity reductions in line with demand fluctuations and cost reductions such as lower empty-container repositioning expenses through the use of IT, and will work to improve profitability.」