News / OOCL's Q1 numbers show storm clouds gathering over box shipping

Photo: © Péter Gudella

The first evidence of the depth of the liner shipping freight rate correction comes with the Q1 operational numbers for OOCL, which revealed a 58% year-on-year slump in the carrier’s revenue.

Several weeks ahead of the financial earnings season publications from the other major carriers, OOCL’s data is regarded as a harbinger of the health of the container sector.

Indeed, a collapse in freight rates from highly elevated levels, driven by weak demand and overstocked inventories, suggests that the carriers will be ...