News / Q4 23 financial horror for liners spotlit by OOCL operational update

Photo: © Péter Gudella

A first look at the terrible final quarter of 2023 for container lines came this morning as OOCL released its Q4 operational update.

The Cosco-owned carrier said combined revenues across its four trades – Asia-Europe, transpacific, transatlantic and intra-Asia/Oceania – amounted to $1.6bn, a 49% year-on-year decline, as freight rates continued to collapse in the final months of last year.

For the full year, the decline was even worse, with 2023 revenue down 59.6% on 2022’s $18.7bn, at $7.5bn.

The dramatic decline in ...