PRESS ROOM

U-Freight, with our portfolio of international container shipping services, notes that after two very profitable years for container shipping lines, the market is shifting into a post-pandemic normality, as reported by Sea-Intelligence.

More specifically, while the fourth quarter of 2022 gave a first glimpse into what this might look like, the first quarter of 2023 was the first quarter where the carriers’ operating profits took a real hit.

Additionally, this continued into the second quarter of 2023, with the combined earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) dropping by 90% year on year to a little over USD3 billion.

Sea-Intelligence noted that none of these shipping lines were able to sustain their EBIT/teu figures in 2023.

A large reason for the decline in profitability is the decrease in the freight rates, which fell by 48% to 67%, according to shipping lines' data. The drop in box volumes has also played a role in the lower profits.

Find out more about the U-Freight Group’s ocean freight services by visiting the relevant pages of this website or speaking to your usual contact in our company.