Hapag-Lloyd posts EUR219 million loss in Q1 2026 due to falling freight rates and Strait of Hormuz disruptions, reversing last year's profit.
Hapag-Lloyd AG closed the first quarter of 2026 with a Group net loss of EUR219 million (US$256 million), a marked reversal from the EUR446 million profit recorded in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. The German container liner, which ranks fifth among global operators with an operated capacity of approximately 2.39 million TEU, attributed the downturn to a combination of eroding freight rates and operational disruptions that extended transit times and inflated transport costs.
Group revenue declined by 16.8% to EUR4,201 million, down from EUR5,052 million in the first quarter of 2025. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) stood at EUR422 million (US$494 million), while earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to -EUR134 million (-US$157 million). The transition from a profit position to a negative Group result reflects the degree to which margin compression, driven by declining rates rather than by contracting volumes, weighed on the quarter.
The company characterized the operating environment as complex, citing a broad-based decline in freight rates alongside operational disruptions caused by adverse weather conditions and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the end of February. The closure necessitated route deviations and longer transit times, both of which contributed to elevated transport costs across affected services.
Within the Liner Shipping segment, revenue decreased to EUR4,081 million, compared with EUR4,959 million in the first quarter of 2025. The decline was driven principally by a reduction in the average freight rate, which settled at US$1,330 per TEU, 9.5% below the US$1,471 per TEU recorded in the same period of the prior year.
Transport volume reached 3.2 million TEU, remaining broadly stable with a decline of 0.7% year over year, notwithstanding the climatic disruptions in Europe and North America that affected port operations and supply chains. The segment's EBITDA fell to EUR382 million, down from EUR1,014 million in the first quarter of 2025, while segment EBIT recorded -EUR149 million, compared with EUR448 million in the prior-year period.
The rate-driven revenue contraction was evident across the principal trade lanes:
Asia-Europe: EUR1,007 million, down from EUR1,230 million in the first quarter of 2025.
Asia-America: EUR1,362 million, down from EUR1,790 million.
Europe-America: EUR744 million, down from EUR979 million.
Africa and intra-regional trades: EUR527 million, up from EUR508 million.
The Africa and intra-regional segment was the sole trade grouping to register growth, an increase the company attributed to robust demand and the expansion of available transport capacity on those routes.
