Japanese freight forwarder Nippon Express reported quarterly earnings that improved 5% on a year earlier and were 1% better than expected. Growth came from outside Japan, with southeast Asia volumes surging 14%. That improvement reflects Pacific basin growth seen by Orient Overseas. It was also the second quarter of improved revenues, as also seen from peers K+N and Panalpina, and may mean the forwarders’ as a group will see 5% revenue growth for the quarter. The company’s outlook is that volume growth will remain sluggish.