News / OOCL 'supercharged' record final-quarter earnings tempered by falling volumes

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Huge increases in freight rates last year are likely to lead to container carriers reporting record fourth-quarter earnings, despite carrying fewer volumes than in Q4 20.

This morning, Cosco-owned OOCL released its fourth-quarter operational update that reported volumes across its four main trades declined by 16.9% to 1.85m teu, compared with Q4 20’s 2.23m.

The financial performance, however, was markedly different, with total revenues more than doubling, from $2.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2020 to over $4.8bn.

“This record result was achieved ...