{"id":87110,"date":"2026-02-13T04:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T07:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shipping.einnews.com\/article\/891994272"},"modified":"2026-02-13T04:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T07:57:10","slug":"hmm-remains-profitable-in-2025-despite-global-freight-rate-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/hmm-remains-profitable-in-2025-despite-global-freight-rate-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"HMM Remains Profitable in 2025 Despite Global Freight Rate Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korea\u2019s HMM managed to stay in the black through a bruising 2025 for container shipping<\/a>, posting a 13.4% operating margin even as freight rates collapsed across major trade lanes and several global rivals slipped into losses.<\/p>\n

The Seoul-based carrier reported full-year revenue of KRW 10,891 billion ($8.38 billion), with operating profit of KRW 1,461 billion ($1.12 billion) and net profit of KRW 1,879 billion ($1.45 billion). While those figures were sharply lower than in 2024\u2014operating profit fell 58.4% and net profit declined 50.3%\u2014HMM\u2019s ability to remain profitable stood out in a year when many competitors struggled.<\/p>\n

The broader container market faced sustained pressure throughout 2025. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index averaged 1,581 points, down 37% from 2024\u2019s average of 2,506. Rates fell sharply across key routes, with U.S. West Coast spot prices down 49%, the U.S. East Coast down 42%, and Europe off 49%.<\/p>\n

Larger global carriers were not immune. A.P. Moller-Maersk reported a $153 million loss<\/a> in its Ocean division in the fourth quarter\u2014its first quarterly loss in years\u2014despite an 8% increase in volumes, as excess capacity continued to weigh on pricing.<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Hapag-Lloyd also felt the strain, posting full-year EBITDA of $3.6 billion<\/a>, down from $5.0 billion in 2024, while EBIT slid to $1.1 billion from $2.8 billion. The carrier cited higher costs tied to ongoing Cape of Good Hope reroutings and start-up expenses linked to its Gemini Network partnership with Maersk.<\/p>\n

Ocean Network Express slipped into the red<\/a> during the October\u2013December period, reporting a net loss of $88 million on revenue of $4.07 billion. CEO Jeremy Nixon pointed to a \u201cchallenging operating environment,\u201d driven in part by steady newbuild deliveries that kept vessel supply ahead of demand.<\/p>\n

HMM\u2019s quarterly results, however, showed early signs of stabilization. Fourth-quarter operating profit rose 6.9% from the prior quarter, while net profit increased 19.7%. Revenue was largely flat quarter-over-quarter at KRW 2,708 billion ($2.08 billion).<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, HMM warned that vessel oversupply remains a key risk, with a large wave of new containership deliveries expected to further strain the supply-demand balance amid muted demand growth. <\/p>\n

To counter those pressures, the carrier plans to expand its hub-and-spoke network, strengthen low-emission service offerings, and improve cost efficiency through optimized feeder operations. HMM is also looking to diversify its bulk portfolio in search of new revenue streams.<\/p>\n

Geopolitical risk added another layer of uncertainty in 2025, as most carriers continued to route ships around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea<\/a>. By mid-January 2026, only about 26 containerships per week were transiting the Suez Canal, far below the roughly 80 weekly transits seen before attacks began in late 2023.<\/p>\n

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said in February they would cautiously resume Red Sea transits<\/a> on select services, starting with their Gemini Cooperation\u2019s ME11 route. Whether that move signals a durable reopening\u2014or remains a calculated gamble\u2014will hinge on security conditions holding in one of the world\u2019s most critical shipping corridors.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… container shipping<\/span>, posting a 13.4% operating margin even as freight<\/span> rates … throughout 2025. The Shanghai Containerized Freight<\/span> Index averaged 1,581 points … the world\u00e2\u0080\u0099s most critical shipping<\/span> corridors. Editorial Standards \u00c2\u00b7 Corrections \u00c2\u00b7 About …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}