The combined earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of some of the world’s biggest shipping lines fell by 90% from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023. This comes as the market begins to shift back to post-pandemic normality following two years of major profitability, according to an August 23 report from Sea-Intelligence.

Major shippers like ZIM and Wan Hai both recorded operating losses during the second quarter of 2023. This was the first time that Wan Hai had experienced profitability issues during a second quarter since the 2011-12 fiscal year.

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) had the largest EBIT per TEU during Q2 2023 at $305, a massive drop-off from Q2 2022, which was over $1,500 per TEU. Maersk recorded an EBIT of $207 per TEU. Hapag-Lloyd’s EBIT per TEU was $298. ONE’s EBIT came in at $137 per TEU.

ZIM had a particularly difficult Q2 2023, with the company recording a negative EBIT of $195 per TEU, meaning the organization essentially lost $195 for every TEU they moved during the quarter.

“A large reason for the decline in profitability is the decrease in the freight rates, which dropped by 48% to 67% across the shipping lines that publish these figures,” wrote Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy. “Another reason is the decline in transported volumes. What is surprising, however, is that ZIM, one of the only two shipping lines to record an EBIT loss, grew their volumes 0.5% globally, and by roughly 13% on both trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe.”