ASIA-Europe volumes continued to hold strong in the first quarter of this year, despite the gloomy economic outlook in Europe, according to the latest information released by the European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA).

Westbound volumes for the quarter rose 20.4 per cent year on year to 3.1 million TEU, and a 10.49 per cent hike in volumes for the month of March.

The interesting fact about the ELAA's latest data is that this now provides us with our first look at the post-Chinese New Year trade situation to and from Europe and the overall picture is still relatively positive.