They've been a pretty good indicator of what's going on in the industry as a whole for the last three or four quarters.
From Offshore Energy, February 16:
German liner company Hapag-Lloyd expects very strong earnings growth amid exceptional demand for container transports, which has spurred freight rates.
Based on preliminary business figures for the month of January and the current business situation, the company’s executive board anticipates EBITDA and EBIT for the first quarter of 2021 to be significantly higher than in 2020.
EBITDA is currently expected to be at least $1.8 billion compared to $517 million in Q1 2020, while EBIT is expected to be at least $ 1.5 billion compared to $176 million in Q1 2020.
Hapag-Lloyd said the forecast for the year was subject to considerable uncertainty due to freight rate volatility, operational challenges caused by existing infrastructural bottlenecks, and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We will see a very strong result in the first quarter, but we anticipate a normalisation as the year progresses. We are still seeing slower container turn times, significant congestion in ports around the globe, capacity constraints in rail and truck, and the risks of the coronavirus pandemic remain,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd....
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