VTG to focus primarily on leasing
Hamburg-based VTG is to concentrate its tank container business solely on leasing.
The company announced in March that it was exiting the tank container logistics business, operated through VTG Tanktainer.
The group said its tank container transport and logistics activities will be discontinued by the end of the second quarter of this year.
This will also involve closing its international subsidiaries, with the exception of the joint venture Shanghai COSCO VTG Tanktainer.
VTG said the step was necessary in order to respond to an “increasingly fraught market situation” with which VTG has been confronted since the third quarter of 2022.
“A pronounced slump in demand for transport in the chemical industry and declining freight rates – in part due to the massive increase in energy costs – has been accompanied by substantial price hikes in the intermodal segment,” a statement read.
“At the same time, freight costs can now only be planned on the basis of prices valid for between three and six months. After thoroughly examining various options, the executive board, acting in agreement with the shareholders, took the strategic decision to discontinue the logistics activities of VTG Tanktainer.”
VTG had previously signalled its intention to concentrate on tank container leasing, which is, after all, better aligned with the group’s overall business.
The company announced in March that it was exiting the tank container logistics business, operated through VTG Tanktainer.
The group said its tank container transport and logistics activities will be discontinued by the end of the second quarter of this year.
This will also involve closing its international subsidiaries, with the exception of the joint venture Shanghai COSCO VTG Tanktainer.
VTG said the step was necessary in order to respond to an “increasingly fraught market situation” with which VTG has been confronted since the third quarter of 2022.
“A pronounced slump in demand for transport in the chemical industry and declining freight rates – in part due to the massive increase in energy costs – has been accompanied by substantial price hikes in the intermodal segment,” a statement read.
“At the same time, freight costs can now only be planned on the basis of prices valid for between three and six months. After thoroughly examining various options, the executive board, acting in agreement with the shareholders, took the strategic decision to discontinue the logistics activities of VTG Tanktainer.”
VTG had previously signalled its intention to concentrate on tank container leasing, which is, after all, better aligned with the group’s overall business.
