Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) said its container volume in April jumped 34% compared to the same period a year earlier.

Singapore-based NOL handled 212,000 forty-foot equivalent units (feu) during the month against 157,800feu in the same period last year.

The shipping company attributed the growth to higher volumes carried from the Intra-Asia and Transpacific trade lanes.

To date, the company has carried 43% more boxes than it did in 2009, handling a volume of 913,000feu.

In April, average freight rates across all trades the line is involved in were up 15% at $2,669 per feu compared to 2009, NOL said.