The average operating margin of the major container shipping lines rose again in the third quarter of 2025, after that market recorded its highest quarterly cargo volume, with shippers adjusting shipments to avoid tariff and port fee deadlines, according to Alphaliner.
As a result, the nine largest carriers that publish earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reported an average operating margin of 13.7% in the period, compared to 9.9% in the previous quarter.
“Although earnings and margins have fallen from the very high results of a year ago, they remain historically solid and much better than expected at the start of the year,” the consultancy pointed out.
In total, the nine main carriers generated operating profits (EBIT) of more than $4.3 billion in the quarter (more than $5 billion if CMA CGM, which does not publicly report its EBIT, is included).
“This brings the operating profits of the same nine carriers between January and September to a considerable total of $12.7 billion. Both volumes and average rates per TEU increased for the carriers in the third quarter compared to the second,” the entity noted.
In the results by carrier, Taiwan’s Wan Hai Lines again topped Alphaliner’s ranking with a margin of 25.6%. The Taipei-based company, which a decade ago was considered primarily a regional carrier, recorded a decrease of just 28% year-on-year in operating profits during the first nine months of the year, much lower than that of most of its competitors.
Wan Hai Lines is currently on track to report the best margin of the year. The company kept the revenue decline to a minimum in the nine-month period, with only an 11% contraction. To date, the carrier derives about 40% of its revenue from traffic with the Americas and owns 99% of its fleet after a large newbuilding program.
Meanwhile, Evergreen and Cosco Group also maintained their second and third positions in the third quarter, with margins of 22.7% and 20.9% respectively. However, Yang Ming fell from fourth to sixth place, after recording a margin of 10.5%, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter.
Further down the list, Ocean Network Express (ONE) improved its position with a margin of 6.3%, after two consecutive quarters in the last place of Alphaliner’s ranking. “Nevertheless, despite a solid result in the third quarter thanks to the advancement of cargo on the Asia-North America routes, the carrier issued a pessimistic forecast for the next six months,” the entity pointed out.
Hapag-Lloyd fell to the last place in the consultancy’s ranking with a margin of 4.1%. The German carrier is working on reducing the costs associated with the new Gemini Cooperation, in addition to achieving significant operational savings.
Maersk reported the next lowest margin, of 6.2%, in its purely liner activities.
Terminal activities drive European groups
Despite the drop in the results of liner operations, European carriers compensated for part of this deficit with their terminal activities, which in the case of Maersk have been reinforced by the Gemini concentration and distribution system, using many of the Danish carrier’s own terminals.
The company recorded operating profits in terminals of 571 million dollars in the third quarter, more than in its liner shipping division. CMA CGM doubled the EBITDA of “Other activities”, including terminals, to 300 million dollars in the quarter.
Contractions
Financial results from liner activities are now expected to decrease as rates fall and supply continues to increase. “This time, there is no clear prospect of a geopolitical factor improving rates, and a possible reopening of the Red Sea route would cause an even faster drop in rates and earnings,” Alphaliner pointed out.
The second largest carrier, Maersk, warned that falling freight rates could cause losses in its ocean container business in the fourth quarter and likely generate a difficult earnings environment beyond that period.
With 872 million dollars of EBIT in the first nine months, ZIM’s revised annual forecast, of between 700 and 900 million dollars, also opens the possibility of losses, or of profits lower than 30 million dollars, in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, ONE has forecast an operating loss of –70 million dollars for the six-month period between October and March.
