News / Cheaper fuel rescues box carriers' Q3 margins, but IMO 2020 looms

Cheaper fuel prices saw ocean carriers improve their average operating margin to 3.6% in the third quarter.

This compares with just 0.6% in Q3 last year and is despite a 1.8% decline in freight rates.

According to Alphaliner, the Q3 market leader was Hapag-Lloyd, with an operating margin of 7.8%, followed by Maersk, at 7.3%. 

Dragging down the average for the carriers that publish their results was HMM, with a negative operating margin of -5.7%, extending the South Korean line’s loss?making performance to 18 consecutive quarters. 

HMM ...