According to Alphaliner, OOCL reports unaudited revenue of $5.04 billion for the third quarter, a 4.5% drop from the second quarter and the first quarterly revenue decline for the operator since the first quarter of 2020.
On an individual business basis, revenue fell in three of OOCL’s four main business areas, with only within Asia/Australia showing an improvement in earnings compared to the second quarter. OOCL is the first major operator to report revenue for the July-September period.
Transpacific traffic
Armed with significant new contract business, OOCL managed to increase its average earnings per teu on the transpacific in the third quarter despite a global drop in spot rates. The carrier earned an average of USD 4,564 per teu on the transpacific in July-September compared to USD 4,365 in April-June. However, a 12% drop in enroute lifts meant overall transpacific revenue fell 7.5% to $1.91 billion from $2.01 billion in the second quarter.
Asia-Europe
In contrast, average earnings per teu decreased on the Asia-Europe route, to USD 3,378 compared to USD 3,440 in the previous quarter. Lifts also fell 4.4% to 384,919 teu, resulting in total revenue of $1.3bn for Asia-Europe, down from $1.38bn in the second quarter.
Transatlantic
OOCL volume throughput was up marginally on the liner during the third quarter, while average earnings fell 2% compared to the previous three months to $3,248 per teu. As a result, Atlantic revenue was flat, falling less than 1% to $370M.
Within Asia/Australia
Intra-Asia/Australia results held firm for OOCL in the quarter, with revenue slightly above $1.46 billion after average rates per teu rose nearly 3% to $1,759 and volumes fell less than 1%.
Source: Alphaliner
