News Highlights week: 12 - 2025

US-listed Israeli carrier ZIM reported net profits of USD 2.15 bn for 2024, a huge turnaround from the previous year’s loss. 
The Israeli carrier clocked an impressive average freight rate of USD 1,888 per teu in 2024 after it increased its proportion of spot business on the Transpacific to 65%. 

In addition, with the delivery of 27 ships of 210,000 teu in 2024 which boosted its fleet by a net 25% during the year, the carrier also recorded a 14% increase in liftings to 3.75 Mteu. 
It marks a contrast from a year earlier: ZIM recorded a net loss of USD 2.7 bn in 2023, albeit including significant impairment charges, though operating income was also negative at –USD 422 M. The latter transformed into an operating profit of USD 2.55 bn in 2024. Revenues increased 63% year-on-year to USD 8.4 bn. 
Evergreen profits top USD 4 bn in 2024 
Taiwan’s largest container carrier Evergreen Marine Corp achieved a net profit of TWD 139.4 bn (USD 4.2 bn) in 2024, a fourfold increase on the previous year, after the Red Sea crisis absorbed excess ca pacity and propped up rates.

Revenue rose 26% to TWD 462.6 bn for the world’s seventh largest line. Operating costs rose a similar amount, by 27% to TWD 287.5 bn.
Meanwhile, operating profits, or EBIT, rose from TWD 34.7 bn in 2023 to an impressive TWD 159.95 bn (USD 4.8 bn). 
Evergreen announced in February that it had placed orders for eleven LNG-powered ’megamax’ container ships of about 24,000 teu. The contracts will be split between Guangzhou Shipyard International (5 units) and Hanwha Ocean (6 units). It brings the carrier’s order book to 57 ships of 802,000 teu, similar to COSCO SHIPPING and Maersk but behind market leaders MSC and CMA CGM.
Yang Ming posts USD 2 bn profit for 2024 
Yang Ming, Taiwan’s second largest carrier, posted a net profit of TWD 64.18 bn, or USD 1.95 bn, for 2024, increasing profits nearly thirteenfold on the previous year. 
Annual revenues rose 58% to TWD 222.7 bn. By contrast, operating costs rose just 8% to TWD 145.1 bn, with Yang Ming not receiving newbuilding deliveries as was the other case for many other lines.

SITC doubles net profit to USD 1 bn 
Hong Kong regional line SITC managed to double net profits in 2024 to USD 1.0 bn after hiking average rates 16% and volumes 11%. 
SITC achieved an average rate per teu of USD 721 on its services, while total liftings rose to 3.57 Mteu. As a result, company revenues rose 25% to USD 3.06 bn, while the cost of sales only rose 6%. 
But the niche carrier warned of pending overcapacity as the Red Sea trade normalised and said ’customer stickiness, operational efficiency, and cost control’ would become key factors.