Shares of Singapore shipping firm Neptune Orient Lines slid up to 8 percent on Wednesday after the firm said it would reduce the trade capacity at its container shipping business APL.

NOL said on Tuesday that APL would reduce capacity in Asia-Europe trade by around 25 percent, and in transpacific trade by around 20 percent, since it said traditionally softer seasonal demand was being compounded by the economic slowdown.

The expectation that the total volume of business is set to drop means that certain routes may have to eliminated, resulting in losses in economies-of-scale, an analyst said. The elimination of unprofitable routes will lead to a drop in revenue.