Container lines record combined EBIT loss of US$1.44 billion in 2023 Q4

During the fourth quarter of 2023, the shipping lines collectively reported a combined EBIT loss of US$1.44 billion. Among the major players, Maersk recorded a loss of US$920 million, followed by Hapag-Lloyd (US$252 million), ONE (US$248 million), Yang Ming (US$ 109 million), ZIM (US$54 million), and Wan Hai (US$41 million).

Comparing these figures across the same set of shipping lines (excluding ONE due to limited historical data), and incorporating Evergreen and HMM, both of which achieved operating profits in 2023-Q4, this quarter marked the highest combined EBIT loss from 2012 to 2023. The previous record was in 2015-Q4, with a loss of US$455 million.

To analyze profitability per TEU shipped, Figure 1 illustrates the EBIT/TEU trends from 2010 to 2023, highlighting the unprecedented levels observed during the 2021-2022 pandemic period. Figure 2 focusses on the developments in 2023, cutting off the y-axis at +/- 300 USD/TEU for clarity.