By Kentaro Okasaka
Tokyo (Reuters) -Japanese Seasoner Kawasaki Kisen (K -Line) adjusts his American services and is willing to lead more ships to other regions to other regions while it is scapping for potentially higher American rates, said CEO Takenori Igarashi on Wednesday.
“There have been times when ships could not be fully loaded on some routes, and when we reduced the frequency of container services from East Asia to the US,” Igarashi, who took his position in March, told Reuters in an interview.
“We adjust our fleet capacity according to freight volumes.”
Kawasaki Kisen, one of Japan's most important shipping companies, has an impact of 30 billion yen ($ 200 million) of the American rates for the financial year up to and including March 2026, stating a hit for the car rider activities and lower container volumes and freight rates.
Igarashi said that the company of the container ship would in particular be influenced by the outcome of the negotiations of the US china, where the company was closely underway.
US President Donald Trump has threatened higher rates for a series of trading partners, unless they correspond to trade agreements before a deadline of 1 August.
Depending on the rating rates with which different countries are ultimately confronted and what they do to act streams, there can be a positive impact if the shipping distances become longer, Igarashi said.
To adapt to rate-related demand at the operational level, Kawasaki Kisen could reduce ships from American routes to Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Africa, he said.
“When it comes to strategic adjustments, we can, for example, reduce assets in the form of ships, but unless we are clear about the direction of trade policy, we cannot suddenly make drastic cuts,” he said. “We are still in the wait -and -see phase.”
($ 1 = 149,8000 yen)
(Reporting by Kentaro Okasaka. Edit by Chang-Ran Kim and Mark Potter)
