News / Yang Ming bullish as it boasts full box ships into extended peak season

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Yang Ming said on Friday that slots on its ships on the transpacific and Asia-North Europe lanes were fully booked into July and expects the peak season to run into Q3.

The Taiwanese liner operator’s management said while the 10% global tariff on US imports fuelled front-loading, ahead of the levies expiring on 24 July, it expected retailer restocking ahead of Christmas to power shipping demand into the third quarter.

Chief revenue officer Yeh Wen-chung said: “The market is still affected by changes in US-China trade and tariff policies, geopolitical risks, and continued investment in new ship capacity, all of which are important indicators to watch in the shipping market in Q3.

“However, supported by the traditional peak season and retailers restocking, demand in Europe and the US continues to heat up, while the intra-Asia market remains stable. The company maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook for the overall market outlook for Q3.”

Yang Ming’s consolidated revenue for May reached $480.7m, up 6% from April and 22% higher year on year, reflecting the impact of the early peak season. The AI boom and demand for renewable energy have driven exports of related products, such as memory chips and solar panels.

By year-end, Yang Ming will take delivery of the15,500 teu ships commissioned in 2023 at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and deploy them on Asia-North Europe routes.

But Mr Yeh said Yang Ming’s Q4 performance would depend on developments in the Middle East.

He said: “Passage through the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz affects global container shipping supply and demand. With the return of normal navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the rebound in cargo volumes on Middle East and Persian Gulf routes, global vessel scheduling will be further affected.”

Mr Yeh also touched on the on-off US-Iran peace talks, saying that safety was important and Yang Ming would not rush to resume transits through the Persian Gulf.

He explained: “Sailing through the Persian Gulf requires having insurance coverage and an assessment of the actual local security environment. The safety of crew and vessels is always the highest priority, and we won’t hastily resume service on related routes until the environment is confirmed to be safe.”