Hapag-Lloyd loses market share in an ‘unsatisfactory’ first quarter

Photo: Hapag-Lloyd By Gavin van Marle 13/05/2026 German carrier Hapag-Lloyd lost market share in the first quarter of 2026, and today reported flat year-on-year volume growth –especially when set against Container Trade Statistics Q1 data showing 4.4% global teu volume growth on Q1 25. At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd’s average global freight rate declined 9.6% year on year, from $1,471 per teu to $1,330. And combined with the flat volumes, all this led to an 8.5% decline in liner revenue, to $4.78bn. As a result, EBITDA more than halved year on year, to $447m, while EBIT sank into negative territory: a $174m loss compared with a $472m profit in Q1 25. The company said the key factors that contributed to the “unsatisfactory” first quarter were “adverse weather conditions, particularly across Europe, softer North Atlantic demand, and service disruptions resulting from the Middle East situation. And chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen said the loss of market share – its flat volumes in stark contrast to the 9% growth in shipments reported by Gemini partner Maersk last week – should be seen in the context of a longer timeframe. “If you go to Q1 last year, we saw the opposite effect,” he said in answer to a question during its earnings call. “We grew a lot, while most [of the others] did not grow a lot. If you compare where we came from, and you look two years back, then the growth rates over that 24-month period have actually been fairly comparable. “I expect those things to get closer together again as we move forward,” he said, adding that the current bookings were indicating a relatively strong peak season, particularly on the Asia-Europe trades. “Demand at the moment on Asia-Europe is very strong and I would be very surprised if spot rates are not going to trend up over the upcoming couple of weeks, as we see significant overbooking. “As such, there is certainly not a lot of downward pressure on pricing – if anything, there is upward pressure, probably a little bit later than we would have liked,” he said. This stood in contrast to the transatlantic trade, which despite a strengthening in spot rates, according to Drewry’s World Container index over recent weeks. “[We have] significant exposure to the Atlantic trade, which was very weak in the first quarter in particular, and as a consequence of that, we have had to take some capacity out, because it was simply no longer possible to provide those services at a reasonable cost,” he said. However, he also explained that the volume growth on most main trades continued to bifurcate between head haul and back haul movements, which is likely to soak up more of the industry’s overcapacity than previously thought. “It’s really important to understand that the growth in the past couple of years on the dominant legs has been significantly higher than that we have seen on the non-dominant legs, and that means the additional capacity required is actually more than the overall market growth. “When we look at 2024, we saw overall market growth of 6%, yet the dominant legs grew 10%. In 2025, we saw growth of 5%, yet the dominant legs grew 8%, and this year, we see again the dominant legs grow faster than non-dominant legs. “When you look at the supply-demand balance, please also look at the distinction between dominant and non-dominant legs, because I suspect that, once we are further into the year, we will actually see the dominant legs go faster than the additional supply that comes into the market,” he said. Mr Habben Jansen added that he expected the Zim takeover offer to be complete in the final quarter of the year, although he admitted that considerable uncertainty continued around possible political opposition in Israel. “We are still optimistic, and expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter – when you look at the data and the solution that we put on the table, that is a very good solution for all parties. But of course, especially in times as we have them today, we know that there are also emotional and political elements that can play a role. “Those are much more difficult to predict, but right now, we have no indication other than what we announced earlier, that we expect to close in the fourth quarter.” Meanwhile, its nascent Terminal & Infrastructure division saw revenue increase 54%, to $168m, following the full consolidation of JM Baxi in India, accompanied by “strong volume growth in Latin America and India”. EBITDA rose 30.5%, to $47m, while EBIT was up 20%, to $18m. Overall, Hapag-Lloyd retained its 2026 full-year group guidance of EBITDA in the range of $1.1bn to $3.1bn, and EBIT of between a $500m profit and a loss of $1.5bn.

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• May 14th, 2026
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