The profit of container lines in the second quarter of this year fell by 90%
26 october
# Market News
After two profitable years for container lines, the market is returning to pre-pandemic financial indicators, Container News reports with reference to Sea-Intelligence data.
The fourth quarter of 2022 gave the first glimpses of a decline in profits. January-March 2023 was the first quarter when the operating profit of the lines fell significantly, the newspaper writes.
This decline continued in the second quarter – the total EBIT of container carriers fell by 90% compared to the same period in 2022 – to $3 billion. Some lines even recorded a loss. For example, ZIM had problems with profitability in previous quarters, and Wan Hai went into a loss for the first time since 2012.
According to Sea-Intelligence analysts, not a single line was able to maintain its EBIT/TEU indicators in 2023.
The main reason for the sharp drop in profits was the reduction in freight rates – they fell by 48-67%. Also, a decrease in the volume of container traffic in general played a role in this.
