Container lines announce record $120 billion in profits in Q3

The third quarter results recently announced by the largest publicly traded carriers served to highlight the strength of the market. A.P. Moller-Maersk as the parent of the largest publicly-traded container line reported an amazing 355 percent increase in profits to more than $5.9 billion for the quarter. Similarly, Hapag-Lloyd reported a nearly 10 times increase in profits to more than $6.7 billion for the first nine months of the year. CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said it was “extraordinary strong results,” joining with the CEOs of the other major shipping companies to forecast that market conditions would remain similar for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022. Reviewing the results reported by the carriers, Alphaliner is forecasting for the full year the 10 largest container carriers remain on track for an EBIT operating profit of between $115 and $120 billion. According to Alphainer it the forecast is “more than six times the amount recorded in 2020 and is a figure that is likely to transform the structure of the industry.”