COSCO Shipping Holdings' profit fell 34% in H1 2026 despite record cargo volumes, highlighting challenges in freight rates and profitability.
COSCO Shipping Holdings, the container shipping arm of the world's fourth-largest liner group with a consolidated fleet capacity of more than 3.65 million TEU, reported a sharp decline in profitability during the first half of 2026, even as it moved record cargo volumes. Group net profit fell 34% year-on-year to CNY 13.4 billion (US$2.0 billion), underscoring how softening freight rates can outweigh strong demand across a carrier's network.
The outcome carries direct relevance for cargo owners, forwarders, and importers who track carrier financial health as a leading indicator of pricing stability, capacity discipline, and service reliability in the seasons.
COSCO Shipping Lines and OOCL together carried 14.28 million TEU in the first six months of 2026, an 8% increase over the 13.28 million TEU handled in the same period a year earlier. Growth was registered across nearly every major trade lane, signaling resilient underlying demand.
Trade | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change
Europe–Far East | 2.19 million TEU | 1.95 million TEU | +12%
Transpacific | 2.63 million TEU | 2.39 million TEU | +10%
Intra-Asia | 4.74 million TEU | 4.50 million TEU | +5%
China domestic | 3.15 million TEU | 2.87 million TEU | +10%
Other | 1.58 million TEU | 1.58 million TEU | 0%
Total | 14.28 million TEU | 13.28 million TEU | +8%
Intra-Asia remained the group's largest trade at 4.74 million TEU, while the two principal East-West corridors – Europe–Far East and Transpacific – recorded the fastest percentage gains. For shippers managing global sourcing programmes, the broad-based volume growth points to a carrier operating at high utilisation across a diversified route portfolio.
Consolidated container shipping turnover increased 2.4% in Chinese yuan to CNY 107.3 billion (US$15.8 billion). Yet the gap between revenue growth and volume growth reveals the core pressure on the business: rates did not keep pace with the cargo carried.
Operating profit declined 28% to CNY 13.4 billion (US$2.0 billion), and the operating margin narrowed from 17.9% in the first half of 2025 to 12.5%. Operating profit per TEU fell roughly 30%, from US$197 to US$139. In practical terms, the company earned meaningfully less on each box it moved, even as it moved more of them.
This margin compression is the metric that matters most for rate-watchers. A carrier absorbing thinner per-container returns has a stronger commercial incentive to defend pricing, adjust capacity deployment, and pursue cost efficiency – dynamics that shape the negotiating environment for the second half of the year.
Average revenue per TEU across COSCO Shipping Lines and OOCL edged up 2% to US$1,005, though performance diverged sharply by trade lane:
Europe–Far East: down 4% to US$1,344
Transpacific: down 6% to US$1,549
Intra-Asia: up 7% to US$883
China domestic: up 1% to US$316
Other trades: up 21% to US$1,373
The decline on the two highest-value East-West corridors is the standout signal. Even as Europe–Far East and Transpacific volumes rose by double digits, per-container revenue on both routes fell, confirming that additional capacity and competitive pressure eroded pricing power on the lanes that most affect global importers. Regional and secondary trades, by contrast, delivered firmer rate performance.
Excluding OOCL, COSCO Shipping Lines carried 10.15 million TEU during the first half, up 8% from 9.35 million TEU a year earlier. The mainline brand accounted for roughly 71% of the group's consolidated container volumes, reinforcing its position as the primary engine of network throughput. Its average revenue per TEU, however, slipped 2% to US$965 – a further illustration of the rate softening running through the group's core operations.
For shippers, forwarders, and importers, the first-half figures tell a two-sided story. Robust volume growth of 8% points to a carrier with the scale, coverage, and utilisation to support high-priority, multimodal freight programmes across global markets. At the same time, the 34% profit decline and the retreat in per-TEU earnings signal a rate environment that has moved in favour of cargo owners on the major East-West trades.
COSCO Shipping Holdings continues to expand its footprint while navigating a market defined by ample capacity and cost discipline. For decision-makers planning peak-season allocations and 2027 contract cycles, the numbers reinforce a clear point: monitoring carrier margins alongside published rates offers the sharpest read on where pricing, reliability, and capacity are likely to head next.
