What and how to bring our services into perfection in customer satisfaction
1. Expansion Program of Car Carrier Fleet
Our concern is and will always be on how to satisfy customer or market needs. On the present foreseeable schedule, we are in the process of inputting 7 newbuildings into service. The expansion program is outlined as follows: four 6,000-unit type will be delivered between the 2nd half of 2003 and the 1st half of 2004, and three 5,000-unit type will be delivered during Fiscal 2005. These vessels are expected to be forthcoming subject to confirmation of market needs. Most hopefully, they will successfully contribute to further development of business for our valued customers.
2.Expansion of Service Coverage
Inter-Asia Services
	The injection of 2 newbuildings into service during year 2001 has enhanced our Asian service routes into full swing. In addition to the recommenced Japan/Southeast Asia service, we deployed car carriers exclusively for the inter-Asia trade from November 2002, being successful in constructing stable Asian service routes such as Japan/Asia, Inter-Asia and Asia/Japan. Consequently, the newly-set-up service routes now enable us to successfully respond to increasing future cargo flows, especially in the Inter-Asia and Asia/outside of Asia trades as well as the Asia/Japan trade. We are also preparing step-by-step for inland transport that is being required more and more in the Inter-Asia market.
Atlantic Services
	The Atlantic services are being developed with a top priority. More concretely, on the service route between the American Continent and Europe/Mediterranean, we have placed larger-sized PCTC carriers into service and stand ready to accept and carry all types of cargo including non-motorized vehicles as well as RVs, SUVs and vehicles for construction work.
European Short-Sea Services
	In July 2001, the Company transferred the European short-sea transport business from the previous joint company to "K" Line European Sea Highway Services GmbH (KESS) with the entire capitalization by "K" LINE. Historically, "K" LINE founded a joint company with a European logistics company to keep pace with development of local production in Europe. Efforts have been carried out ever since for further strengthening our car transport business. The volumes doubled from 180,000 units in 1991 to 360,000 units in 2002. From now on, we will continue to even further double our efforts for responding flexibly to this age of globalization so that we may provide the most efficient transport service possible in combination with "K" LINE’s worldwide car transport network.
3. Utilization of Information Technology
Respectably, the auto industry is regarded as one of the segments where Information Technology is being most deeply and expansively rooted in its various activities. It is of general concern that a major automaker has established an Information Technology center for a window of new business opportunities in addition to automobile manufacturing. As compared with that, we know that our capability is rather narrowly limited but surely, we would be able to contribute to improvements in Supply Chain Management (SCM) centering mainly on maritime shipping. In this process, a chain of work can be conducted online from receipt of your booking information to stowage, to production of shipping documentation to accounting settlement. Our EDI-based information can also be usable in information exchanges with your other business partners. One more advantage for our customers is that "K" LINE’s global network is well designed and sophisticated to help instantly track your shipments as to location and condition, etc. wherever they may be located within the scope of our service. Emphatically, we are aware that information is the core part of our services.