Yang Ming’s first-half rebound sets up a volatile second half

The first-half rebound also follows a more difficult 2025, when Yang Ming’s full-year revenue fell to $5.07 billion, and after-tax profit declined to $530.3 million, or $0.15 per share. Still, 2025 marked its sixth consecutive profitable year, underlining the carrier’s ability to remain profitable despite a less favorable rate environment and substantial network disruption.

Yang Ming has a substantial North American presence, concentrated in the trans-Pacific trade. It 10 weekly Asia-U.S. West Coast sailings and four weekly Asia-U.S. East Coast sailings among 21 named Asia–North America loops.

What improved

Yang Ming said the momentum was driven by three mutually reinforcing factors:

• Front-loading demand: Uncertainty surrounding tariff policy encouraged shippers to move cargo earlier, creating an unusually strong early peak-season pattern;
• Higher freight rates: Yang Ming said rate gains accompanied the cargo-demand increase and helped lift Q2 above both Q1 and the prior-year quarter.
• Effective-capacity constraints: Diversions away from the Red Sea around the Cape of Good Hope, port congestion and slower sailing speeds have absorbed vessel time and reduced effective capacity, partially offsetting the delivery of new tonnage. Yang Ming identified these factors in its 2025 results discussion.

Outlook: Volatile trade, fragile balance

Yang Ming’s outlook remains cautious. It identified trade protectionism, changing trade policies and geopolitical conflict – particularly in the Middle East and Red Sea – as enduring risks to trade flows and supply-chain reliability. Rerouting has reduced capacity on affected services and made transshipment arrangements more complicated, while also raising terminal-congestion risk, insurance costs and bunker expenses.

Supply-demand balance remains a structural challenge. Yang Ming cited approximately 1.59 million container units of scheduled new ship deliveries in 2026. Based on the Alphaliner data cited by the company, global fleet supply was expected to grow 3.8% in 2026, ahead of projected demand growth of 2.5%.

That imbalance does not necessarily translate directly into weaker spot markets. Yang Ming notes that tighter decarbonization standards may encourage slow steaming and retirement of older vessels, reducing usable capacity and absorbing some of the delivery wave. 

The company says it will monitor trade flows and demand, adjust service networks and capacity deployment, improve service stability, and maximize slot utilization. It also plans to replace older vessels gradually with more energy-efficient and smart ships while diversifying energy risk and maintaining environmental compliance.

Yang Ming named the 15,500-TEU LNG dual-fuel vessel YM Wayfinder in June for deployment on the Asia-North Europe FE3 service, signaling continued investment in larger, lower-emission ships despite the uncertain market.

Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Read more:

Maersk raises 2026 outlook again as earnings surge

U.S. container imports surge on China peak season momentum

New harbor commission president backs Long Beach port plans

Trump extends Jones Act waiver; direct effect “pennies per gallon,” say analysts

Asia-US East Coast box rate hits new high of $9,400