News / Hamburg Sud blames vessel cascading for a disappointing year of weak growth

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German ocean carrier Hamburg Sud has warned of more pressure on already weak north-south container markets caused by the cascading of bigger ships from Asia-Europe routes.

The privately-owned carrier does not publish accounts, but in its operational report covering 2014 the company said cargo volumes had increased by a “modest” 2.3% on the previous year, to 3.38m teu, describing it as a “less than satisfactory result”.

The company said: “The situation in Brazil remains unsatisfactory, with the economy stagnating in 2014, and ...