The color of fresh green leaves have been thickening day by day and shining with dazzling beauty of the sunlight of May these days. I wish to thank to Japan rich nature showing very distinct four seasons. The consecutive holidays of May are over, and a quiet city has been already surrounded in an everyday turbulent crowd again. Meanwhile, I am concerned about people of the stricken area of Kumamoto earthquake generated on April 14. The person of unknown dead person amounts to 68, and 12,845 people (as of May 9th) are still forced to living in evacuation shelters. Government should be required to plan necessary restoration measure immediately. On the other hand, when an earthquake occurs we hear a story that people had trouble with water to drink and food in early stage. I think that it is necessary for us to prepare ourselves for mentally and physically. With that in mind, we should strengthen cooperation of the neighborhood and we should widen a series of the cooperation of the neighborhood to the big area. It is necessary for us to always secure a minimum lifeline under any circumstances. We have a vivid memory that the major earthquake of the Hanshin, Awaji great earthquake disaster of January 17, 1995, the East Japan great earthquake disaster of March 11, 2011. It is no wonder if we may have such a great earthquake any time because Japan is an earthquake country Japan. Thus, we have to prepare for exigency as we live in such an earthquake country.
Bank of Japan passing up the additional monetary easing on April 28 the yen has been swaying strong in earnest. As of May 11, it is $ 1.00 = 108 yen. It would become the fall factor of prices again from now on. It would promote a deflationary pressure effect and the deflation would not be broken off. In addition, the sudden strong yen is a big trial for an export industry. As for the auto industry, the shipbuilding industry, home electrical industry, the tourism, the influence is serious. Influence of a yen exchange rate is not zero to Japanese shipping lines even if they have turned into constitution not to be affected by it. The crude oil price of $ 44 per barrel contributes to cost reduction very much now. Shipping lines have been encountering severe income and expenditure because of slowdown of the world economy, intensification of the fare competition, investment competition of upsizing containership. Japanese 3 shipping lines should be proud of the history of 100 years and have contributed to the world containerization from the 1970s.
They are the able minority and have worked hard by competing each other. They have set up the network around the world and have contributed to the world strategy of the Japanese global companies. I would expect that they could show the real ability as a company for 100 years from now on.
Japanese 3 shipping lines announced the consolidated accounts of March 2016 period on April 28.
| NYK | MOL | K Line | |
| Sales | 2.2723 trillion yen | 1.7122 trillion yen | 1.2439 trillion yen |
| Ordinary profit | 60 billion yen | 36.2 billion yen | 3.3 billion yen |
| Current net profit | 18.2 billion yen | ▲170.4 billion yen | ▲51.5 billion yen |
Now it is very noisy about the merger of the shipping lines and a talk of the reorganization of alliance. The new alliance calling as “Ocean Alliance” will be organized by 4 shipping lines of COSCO、CMA-CGM、Evergreen、OOCL and will start in April 2017. 2M (Maersk, MSC) are 26% and Ocean alliance are 28% in East-West routes. As a result, these 2 alliances will come to share 54%. A trade paper informs on April 25 that Hapag-Lloyd and UASC have begun discussion of merger. Japanese 3 lines are receiving everybody’s attention.
The total number of the new container stock in China has been reduced by 20% to 700,000 teu from last month. The new container price is $1,400 per 20f and container makers try to raise the prices for the reason of increasing the iron price. Generally, it is said that iron is an excess production in China. Is the rise in price caused by the government instruction in spite of surplus situation? It seems to be certain that the new container price rises towards the summertime for the demand period.
The commuting to the new office of our company was over one month. I could not actually understand how good the commuting to the company every day is. I have been confident in my physical strength somewhat. I feel like having somehow gained the muscular strength of the foot which declined and the endurance of the physical strength these days. It was after a long absence, and there was the invitation from a tennis companion the other day so I participated because I felt sorry for a long time no see to be absorbed in business. As my friends pointed out that I played energetically I discovered oneself different in movement.
The number of commuters becomes the big flow near the station and goes to the station. When I am swallowed up by the flow and walks I become desperate for the flow to follow it. The forceful flow moves strongly regardless of my will. The flow has the main stream and a branch. When I must go to the branch, I might be taken to the opposite direction in the undulation if I do not change a flow into the branch desperately.
The yard of the station is crowded with transit passengers.I have to thread my way through the crowd and to go up and down the stairs and I have to go to the platform of my train to get on. And the big lump of the passenger who make a line orderly surges into the inside of car like the flow that burst into in several seconds when a train arrives. Every day to desperately endure the strong pressure of the person of the movement of anteroposterior right and left, and with my foot to the movement of the train to the objective station. It is just the section of 2 stations but it is a considerable momentum just to follow a crowd of the commuting toward the station. It seems to be thrown up by the big flow if I do not follow it. I go up and down the stairs of the station. There is myself walking desperately to meet the time of the turning point of the signal of the pedestrian crossing to the company.
Besides I take documents home with me, the bag holding in a hand bulges like a balloon. Maybe the weight of my bag is 4-5 kg? It would be effective in lifting up and down a dumbbell for 40 minutes every day. It is nothing new to say but I admire that commuting contributes to physical training very much to the office worker’s life so I just wish to thank to these days.