Container carriers recorded widely varied first-quarter operating margins in 2026, according to industry analysts Alphaliner.
Route trends lead to range of Q1 operating margins for lines. The average operating margin for the leading container carriers reached 5.2% in the first quarter of 2026, practically unchanged on the previous three months, but the result disguised a wide variety of individual performances by the lines.
While the average ratio of EBIT return on carriers’ revenues remained in positive territory, and only marginally lower than the previous quarter’s 5.3% average, the gap between well and poorly performing lines grew more clearly in the period, forming two distinct groups.
As in the previous quarter, three carriers declared operating losses: ZIM, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd reported EBIT of -USD 5 M, -USD 174 M and -USD 192 M on shipping activities for the period.
This produced negative operating margins ranging from –0.4% (essentially a break-even result) to –3.6%. It was Maersk’s second consecutive quarter of operating losses for its Ocean division.
The lines, which operate above average capacity on the Transatlantic, suffered from shrinking export volumes out of Europe, which impacted both volumes and prices.
Also at the low end of the range, Yang Ming and ONE returned to profit in Q1 after slumping to a deficit in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Source: Alphaliner
