Hapag-Lloyd Profits Plunge Amid Global Trade Disputes

In the first nine months of 2025, Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world's largest container shipping companies, experienced a significant decline in profits. The company's overall revenue improved to $16.05 billion from $15.28 billion in the same period a year ago, but group profit fell to $946 million from $1.83 billion.

The company attributed the drop in earnings to the ongoing global trade disputes, which have led to uneven demand and depressed freight rates. While Hapag-Lloyd's liner shipping revenue increased to $15.7 billion from $14.9 billion year-over-year, driven by a 9% improvement in transport volumes, the company's margins took a hit.

Hapag-Lloyd's liner EBITDA and EBIT margins dropped to 15.5% and 4%, respectively, down from 24% and 13% a year earlier. The company cited network transition and start-up costs for its Gemini alliance with Maersk, as well as congestion-related costs in various parts of the world, as factors contributing to the margin decline.

The average freight rate for Hapag-Lloyd also fell by 4.8% to $1,397 per TEU, despite a 6.1% increase in transport volumes. In comparison, the global container volume improved by 3.7% in the third quarter.

Hapag-Lloyd has narrowed its full-year EBITDA forecast range to $3.1 billion-$3.6 billion and its EBIT forecast to $600 million-$1.1 billion, reflecting the ongoing challenges in the industry.