Global container carrier profits soar on record volumes

Shipping lines are benefiting from positive supply and demand factors and profits are rebounding, although they’re still far below the pandemic peaks. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The global container shipping industry saw profits surge to more than $10bn (€9bn) in the second quarter on record volumes and rising freight rates after Red Sea diversions, according to a new analysis.

Net income for the world’s major container carriers, including Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk and China’s Cosco Shipping, almost doubled from the first three months of the year and topped the $8.8bn haul from the second quarter of 2023, according to a report released by industry veteran John McCown.