China Cosco posts $672m loss, may cancel vessel orders

Shipping company China Cosco Holdings posted a US$672 million first-half net loss, Bloomberg reported. It was the second consecutive loss for the company, Asia’s largest shipping company by value. Profits were hit by slumping world trade as container volume fell 22% to 2.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units in the first half. The loss has put pressure on the company to cancel further orders for new container vessels after earlier canceling a US$299 million contract for eight dry-bulk ships and postponing the delivery of three other vessels. China Shipping Container Lines, China’s second-largest cargo-box carrier, also posted a loss, of US$500 million.