In his New Year address to company employees, the president of Japanese shipping group Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) said he expected the container to remain “very difficult” for the next three to four years. He said: “Using the analogy of ship speeds to describe our business performance over recent years, in FY2007, when we recorded \302.2 billion in ordinary income, our company was moving forward like a 30-knot very high-speed vessel. In FY2008, when our ordinary income was \204.5 billion, we sailed at the speed of 20 knots, like a containership. However, the projected ordinary income for this fiscal year having tumbled to \10 billion means just 1 knot, which is slower than walking pace. Such a slow vessel cannot be properly steered without the assistance of tugboats. Therefore, we need to ride out any wild waves by steering the company in the most effective and safe manner possible.”
