Combined operating profit among eight container shipping lines increased by 58.2% year on year during the second quarter of 2026, according to an analysis by Sea-Intelligence.
The carriers that reported earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) generated a combined $2.69 billion (R43.04bn) during the quarter, compared with $1.70bn (R27.2bn) in the corresponding period of 2025.
Combined revenue among the reporting shipping lines rose by 15.9% to $43.4bn (R694.4bn).
Sea-Intelligence said the improvement in financial performance was supported by growth in transported container volumes.
All six shipping lines that had released second-quarter volume figures recorded year-on-year growth. Their combined volumes increased by 4.7%.
OOCL recorded the strongest volume growth at 8.8%, followed by CMA CGM at 6%. Ocean Network Express (ONE) recorded the lowest increase among the reporting carriers at 2.9%.
Volumes on the transpacific trade increased by 8.9%, while Asia-Europe volumes grew by 4.9%.
Sea-Intelligence said the financial and volume figures indicated that the container shipping market was recovering after a challenging 2025.
The volume comparison does not yet include Cosco, HMM or Yang Ming, which had not published their second-quarter figures when the analysis was completed.
