FORWARDER Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) CEO Detlef Trefzger says shippers can expect the high freight rates, strong demand, and disrupted markets in air and ocean to continue at least until the Lunar New Year in February 2022.
Speaking during a first-half earnings call with analysts, the chief executive said: "We anticipate continued strong demand across all business units and all geographical markets. We face a chaotic market - Suez, port closures, limited capacity throughout the supply chain, reduced port productivity, congestion, equipment shortages, are all ongoing against a backdrop of robust demand.
"We don't see any sign, or trend, that the current environment will change before February next year, and until then, we will not see a major change in demand and bottlenecks in the supply chain," he added.
The company said that "continued recovery of the global economy led to strong demand for logistics services", which in turn helped it to achieve group net turnover of CHF13.3 billion (US$14.5 billion) in the six month period, 35 per cent higher than the same period last year.
The company also achieved a 147 per cent year-on-year increase in net earnings from CHF309 million last year to CHF764 million, according to media reports.
Most of the gains were derived from the strongly performing air and sea freight business units. In sea freight, container volume in the first half of 2021 was 2.2 millionn TEU - up 3 per cent from the first half of 2020. Sea freight net revenue was CHF5.2 billion in the first half, an increase of 55 per cent from the same period in 2021.
K+N's air freight financials were heavily influenced in the second quarter by the consolidation of Apex International figures within the group results from early May. The large Asian air freight forwarder, which was acquired by Kuehne + Nagel last year, added 94,000 tonnes to the group's second-quarter figures.
K+N's air logistics division achieved increased net turnover and ebit in the first six months of this year, "despite global capacity constraints".
At CHF4 billion, net turnover for the division posted in the first half of 2021 was 62 per cent higher than the same period last year. The division's ebit increased by 124 per cent year on year, up to CHF406 milion.
The company's airfreight volumes in the first half of 2021 were up 44 per cent on the same period of last year at 988,000 tonnes.
Joerg Wolle, chairman of the board of directors at K+N, commented: "K+N closed the second quarter of 2021 with an absolute record result. This reflects the strategic course we have set and the initiatives we have taken in recent years, as well as our early and successful pursuit of digital leadership.
"In these special times, our company stands for entrepreneurial vision and for a highly motivated team. Last but not least, the targeted expansion of our positions in Asia is increasingly paying off."
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