The enduring disruption to the global supply chain made that many businesses and industries around the world came under pressure, making products and services more expensive than ever before. Yet, the strain is not felt by everyone. Many shippings agents saw their profits rise exponentially during the last year. 

The costs for intermodal container and other shipping costs rose ten fold in just one year. The typical intercontinental prices rose at ten times their pre-pandemic levels.

There is a phenomenal rise in shipping profits. Containers that are needed to transport goods to all the major ports around the globe and from their to other hubs are being supplied by the major shipping lines of the world. The shortage in containers result in high prices and profits. In 2020, Hapag-Lloyd, the Hamburg based international shipping and container transportation company reported earnings of 1.3 billion US dollars. In 2021, that figure was around 4.2 billion. An amazing surge in profits.

Yet shortage is not the only reason why prices increase. Shippers argue that their costs have risen also. However there is not an match between the costs the shippers have and the earning they now get. “Strong demand coupled with significant operational challenges such as bottlenecks, lack of capacity and equipment shortage in global supply chains drove freight rates up significantly”, said a statement from Maersk, commenting on their own performance in 2021.

One thing is clear that the shortage and most likely also the profits earned, will linger on for a very long time.