Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen was blunt in his assessment of the ocean carrier’s first quarter during a Wednesday earnings call, saying the liner had an “unsatisfactory” start to the year due to escalating costs stemming from the war in Iran.
According to the carrier, revenue in its main liner shipping segment fell 18 percent in the first quarter to $4.8 billion, largely due to a 9.6 percent year-over-year decline in ocean freight rates to $1,330 per 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU)
The dip was in line with market-wide rate declines of 9.7 percent, according to data from Container Trades Statistics (CTS). More from WWD Transported container volume inched down 0.7 percent to 3.2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which the company attributed to weather-related operational disruptions. But the decline in volume coincided with a major uptick from Gemini Cooperation partner Maersk, which saw its own container volumes rise 9.3 percent in the quarter.
CTS said global volumes across the container shipping industry increased 4.4 percent, insinuating that Hapag-Lloyd lost some market share in the period. Carriers including Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) already unveiled 4.1 percent and 1.7 percent increases in volumes, respectively. According to Hapag-Lloyd, the weather issues largely affected Europe and North America and the trans-Atlantic trade, which resulted in ongoing disruptions of terminal operations and supply chains.