Hanjin Shipping Co. is hardly a bellwether in the world of container movers. As lenders halt all support this week, the South Korean company is now emerging as a symbol of the slump that has plagued the industry since the global financial crisis.Hanjin assist
Creditors led by Korea Development Bank will end their backing of South Korea’s largest container-shipping company, which may still need as much as 1.3 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in cash to roll over debt after losses in four of the last five years. Hanjin Shipping’s board is set to meet Wednesday to decide whether to apply for court receivership, the company said late Tuesday.
Hanjin’s woes show the container-shipping industry is still in bad health, limping from one exigency to another since the 2008 crisis brought trading to its knees. Helped by cheap loans, container lines have hung on even as freight rates to move sneakers to Barbie dolls from Asia to Europe and U.S. plunged. From A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S to Hapag-Lloyd AG and France’s CMA CGM SA, companies have tried all — mergers, acquisitions and cost cuts — while demand revival remains elusive.
