Orient Overseas Container Line experienced a significant turnaround during the second quarter of 2026, marking a shift from the softer market conditions observed in the first quarter to a much healthier operating environment by the end of June.
The Hong Kong-based liner reported revenue for the quarter rose 19.8% year over year to $2.537 billion, up from $2.118 billion in the same period of 2025.
Growth was driven by improvements across volumes, utilization, and pricing. Total liftings increased by 8.8% to 2.135 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs), supported by a 6.3% rise in loadable capacity and a 1.9 percentage point improvement in the overall load factor.
Average liner revenue per TEU grew by 10.1%, on firmer market conditions on major east-west trades rather than just increased volume.
The performance varied across trade lanes, with the trans-Pacific route serving as a primary driver of upside. Volume jumped by 21.5% to 608,979 TEUs, while revenue climbed 29.3% to $973.7 million.
Asia-Europe also saw gains, with liftings up 6.9% and revenue increasing by 17.6%. The Intra-Asia/Australasia region remained the largest revenue contributor at$850.8 million, representing a 16.8% year-over-year increase, while the trans-Atlantic trade remained relatively flat with a 1.3% decline in revenue.
First-half liner revenue grew 5.5% to $4.675 billion, with volume rising 5.2% to 4.132 million TEUs. The average liner revenue per TEU was nearly flat, up only 0.2%, indicating that the strong performance in the second quarter effectively offset a weaker start to the year.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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