Cosco Shipping Holdings reported third-quarter net income of 17.2 billion yuan (US$2.6 billion). That was up 81% year on year and the biggest jump in two years, Bloomberg reported, citing a filing published on 29 October 20261. The terminal operator it controls, Cosco Shipping Ports, said the same day that it handled 8.4% more containers and earned almost exactly the same profit2, 5.
The Journal of Commerce reported that Cosco's revenue rose strongly on the transpacific, Asia-Europe and intra-Asia trades, helped by higher freight rates6. Bloomberg linked the profit gain to geopolitical disruption that rerouted trade and kept vessels at sea for longer while container rates surged, and said transpacific sailings were the biggest growth driver1.
Two businesses, two ways to earn
Cosco Shipping Ports raised revenue 13.0% to US$484.3 million and gross profit 19.3% to US$128.1 million in the quarter2. Profit attributable to shareholders rose 0.1% to US$82.6 million, against US$82.5 million a year earlier2, 7. Throughput rose 8.4% to 42.27 million TEU, the standard 20-foot container2.
The difference between the two results is the point. A terminal earns a handling fee for each box it moves. A carrier earns the freight rate on the box, and that rate rose because detours kept ships at sea.
Volume growth at the ports arm came from overseas terminals, which lifted throughput 19.4%. Terminals in China rose 4.9% and the Yangtze River Delta fell 0.3%2. The Loadstar noted that the group's busiest Chinese terminals are close to capacity5.
The premium is made of distance
Alphaliner found that 63% of the capacity deployed between the Far East and Europe had returned to the Red Sea, with vessels on 24 of 46 direct services transiting Suez. Containers moving through the canal now top 5.5 million TEU of the 8.7 million TEU available to the trades3. Ocean Alliance partners Cosco and OOCL have restored six services with a combined 1.27 million TEU3.
Drewry argues that longer voyages and port congestion have been absorbing capacity and limiting the amount of the fleet available to carry cargo4. Every service that returns to Suez shortens the voyage and releases ships.
Two dates and one weekly data point will test how fast that happens. Gemini's ME1/IOS service returns to the canal with its first westbound sailing, Atlanta Express voyage 644W, leaving Salalah on 4 November 20268. Maersk expects all its services to be back on the canal by March 2027, according to the Suez Canal Authority. Container News reported that as an expectation rather than a confirmed schedule9. Drewry counted 55 containership transits in the week to 18 October, 120% more than in the same week of 202510.
What has already started to ease
Transpacific spot rates had held near two-year highs for most of the quarter, according to Drewry data cited by Bloomberg1. They are now falling at the margin. Drewry's World Container Index put Shanghai to Los Angeles at US$7,514 per 40ft in the week to 30 October, down 6% in a week, while Shanghai to New York fell 5% to US$9,63111. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Lindsay Chen said rates are likely to stay where they are, with transpacific spot rates firmly anchored near post-pandemic highs amid resilient US trade flows1.
Asia-Europe held. Shanghai to Rotterdam rose 1% to US$3,686, and Shanghai to Genoa was steady at US$4,15111. Carriers filed general rate increases of US$2,000 to US$3,000 per 40ft for 1 November. Linerlytica called the hike "effectively doomed", with Hapag-Lloyd offering US$3,000 to US$3,200 per 40ft and Maersk US$3,200 to US$3,40011.
Citi expects a seasonal easing into early 2027, The Loadstar reported5. The rate evidence suggests such an easing would appear first in weekly spot assessments and in peak season surcharges. Annual contract levels would adjust last, because carriers use spot rates as the guide for negotiations now under way11.
Ports where the queue stays
Cosco Ports' terminal figures show where bottlenecks can outlast the rate cycle. Piraeus handled 1.09 million TEU, up 11.4%, and Chancay in Peru handled 139,669 TEU, up 24.9%7. Suez Canal Container Terminal handled 1.66 million TEU, up 8.4%, Red Sea Gateway 899,226 TEU, up 19.8%, and Antwerp Gateway 684,232 TEU, up 16.3%7.
The weak point is the Gulf. CSP Abu Dhabi handled 97,734 TEU, down 76.4%7. Cosco Ports said it would closely monitor the Middle East situation at hub ports including CSP Abu Dhabi. It cited the "spillover effects of the Middle East situation" and said it would improve contingency plans and multi-route corridors2. It also said it would strengthen its terminal network along the Suez Canal as traffic recovers7.
The supply wave behind it
The orderbook stands at 16.2 million TEU, or 46.5% of the active fleet, the highest ratio since 2009, according to Linerlytica12. Drewry puts the ratio near 45% and says overcapacity is "unavoidable" in its view, because new tonnage will outrun what congestion and slow steaming can absorb4. Braemar points to a 2028 delivery wave the size of the 2002 fleet, with 94 fixtures covering about 570,000 TEU for 2028 delivery13.