News / TS Lines revamps services as it reports soaring 2024 earnings

Photo: TS Lines

TS Lines’ earnings surged in the first ten months of 2024.

The Taiwanese operator, which was listed in Hong Kong in November, said net profit for the period jumped 38-fold, to $270m, as freight rates firmed due to the Red Sea crisis.

TS said it expected full-year profit to be significantly higher than 2023’s $20.7m when it announces its results in March.

Meanwhile, the carrier has adjusted its Asia West Coast 2 (AWC2) service to provide expedited Yantian-Los Angeles shipments. From tomorrow, the AWC2 rotation will be Xiamen, Nansha, Shekou, Yantian, Los Angeles and Xiamen.

The revised rotation aims to offer a 16-day voyage between Yantian and Los Angeles, to meet demand for southern Chinese exports to the US west coast. The original rotation connected Nansha and Xiamen with LA, with ad hoc sailings to Chiwan, Kaohsiung and Busan.

Revamping the AWC2 route mirrors Zim Line’s eCommerce Xpress (ZEX) service to connect Yantian and Dachan Bay with Los Angeles, which launched in November 2023.

Situated in Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, Yantian is a natural deepwater port and municipal authorities there have introduced policies to help the cross-border e-commerce sector grow.

TS Lines said it would offer customised services at LA’s WBCT Terminal, including priority unloading and quick pick-up, and added: “This will further shorten the cargo circulation time and help customers improve their supply chain competitiveness.”

Besides AWC2, TS Lines has also adjusted its Japan-Taiwan-Hong Kong 2 (JTK2) service to offer a three-day voyage between Tokyo and Yokohama and Taiwan’s Keelung port, to meet demand for Japanese apple exports to Taiwan.

TS Lines now operates 46 routes, with a fleet exceeding 270,000 teu of 45 ships, 38 of which are owned. It plans to take delivery of two vessels of 4,300 teu, two of 7,000 teu and three of 14,000 teu between 2026 and 2027.