Container shipping industry seeing positive turnaround

Following a challenging 2025, the container shipping industry is exhibiting strong signs of recovery in 2026 Q2, characterised by substantial Y/Y increases in combined revenues, operating profits and global transported cargo volumes. 

The 2026 Q2 financial data underscores a significant positive turnaround in industry profitability. The reporting shipping lines generated a combined 2026 Q2 revenue of USD 43.4 billion, which marks a notable 15.9% increase Y/Y. Furthermore, the eight carriers that have published their earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reported a combined EBIT of USD 2.69 billion, a 58.2% increase compared to the USD 1.70 billion these same shipping lines posted collectively in 2025 Q2.  

A closer examination of the global transported volumes reveals that this financial rebound is actively supported by an expansion in overall TEUs transported. All six of the shipping lines that have so far reported on their volume figures experienced positive Y/Y growth in 2026 Q2. 

While none of the reporting shipping lines reached double digit global volume growth Y/Y, volumes remained resilient across the board. OOCL led with the highest global volume expansion at 8.8%, followed closely by CMA CGM with a 6.0% increase… Overall, global volumes grew by 4.7% Y/Y in 2026 Q2 across the same set of shipping lines. This was facilitated by an 8.9% Y/Y growth on the Transpacific and 4.9% Y/Y growth on Asia Europe in 2026 Q2. These volumes figures suggest that the market has regained a solid footing following last year’s disruptions, as per an analysis by Sea-Intelligence. 

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