Profits of leading liner operators have fallen by nearly 90% year on year, but some carriers have done far worse than others.
Nine liner operators generated from shipping a total operating profit, also known as Ebit, of $4.4bn over the three months to the end of June, according to Alphaliner.
That is 36% down on the $6.9bn posted in the first quarter of the year, and is massively down on the $37.7bn the carriers logged in the same period a year earlier.
The decline pushed operating margins into single digits for the first time in three years, Alphaliner noted.
Average operating margins were 8.9% in the second quarter, compared with 56.3% a year earlier.
Israeli liner operator Zim performed poorest of all. The Haifa-based carrier logged negative Ebit of $147m, equivalent to a negative operating margin of -11.3%.
Wan Hai Lines was the second worst performer with a negative operating margin of -7.9%.
The poor performance of Zim and Wan Hai contrasts with that of Cosco Shipping, which topped the list with an operating margin of 27% for the quarter.
The Chinese carrier, which controls the dual container brands Cosco Shipping Lines and Orient Overseas Container Line, was the only company to improve its finances compared to the first three months of the year.
That was largely due to a giant cost-cutting programme, without which the groups operational results were in line with market averages, said Alphaliner.
Hapag-Lloyd was the second best performer with an operating margin of 18.3%. However, the German carrier’s margins are falling fast on the back of lower freight rates.
Most liner operators saw average earnings per teu drop from the first to the second quarter by around 15%, said Alphaliner.
That reflects the termination of annual contracts signed by the bigger carriers in 2022, which were renewed this year at lower rates.
