In the first quarter of 2025, major shipping lines managed to achieve a combined EBIT of $5.89 billion, a figure surpassed only by the pandemic-era Q1 results from 2021 to 2023. However, the second quarter of 2025 painted a different picture. Amid ongoing market disruptions, shifting volumes, and persistent downward pressure on freight rates, the combined EBIT for these shipping lines dropped to $2.73 billion. This marked a decline not only compared to Q2 results from 2021 to 2024 but also brought profitability levels closer to those seen in 2020. While still in the black, 2025-Q2 was notably less profitable than most recent years.
Europe-Asia Trade Drives Volume Growth
To assess operational profitability in container shipping, Sea-Intelligence employs the EBIT/TEU metric. All major shipping lines reported positive EBIT/TEU figures for 2025-Q2, though the range varied significantly. At the lower end, ONE reported $12/TEU, while OOCL led the pack with $249/TEU. Three other shipping lines—Maersk ($35/TEU), Hapag-Lloyd ($35/TEU), and COSCO ($79/TEU)—reported EBIT/TEU figures under $100. Meanwhile, HMM ($176/TEU) and ZIM ($167/TEU) fell into the $100-$200 range.
The financial reports also highlighted a stark contrast between the Transpacific and Asia-Europe markets. The Asia-Europe trade showed robust volume growth, with three of the six shipping lines reporting double-digit year-on-year increases in volumes. In contrast, the Transpacific trade faced widespread volume contractions, reflecting the divided state of global shipping markets.
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