🔥Is Global Shipping Entering Its Most Dangerous Phase Yet?

Jul 11, 2025

∙ Paid

🔥Greetings, Maritime Mavericks!

2025 has been a rollercoaster year for container shipping.

Trade flows are shifting fast, and freight rates are anything but stable.

The US–China tariff conflict is distorting demand, while Red Sea risks remain unresolved.

Volumes are dropping in key corridors, but other markets are heating up.

Here are the most important insights you need to understand right now.

Let’s dive in…

Hapag-Lloyd lost over $50B since May 2022
COSCO only carrier gaining value since 2022
ZIM plunges from $8.2B to just $2.0B
Evergreen, HMM, Yang Ming all trend downward
Market cap reflects listed container carrier valuations over time
🏅 Maritime Analytica: “Global shipping stocks have erased over $60B in market value since the 2022 peak. Only COSCO shows resilience. Investors now watch demand, rates, and geopolitics as key valuation drivers.”

Spot rates fall across all head-haul trades
Asia–Med drops $600 in just two weeks
Transpacific routes sink below key thresholds
Rate gap between Med and N. Europe vanishes
The WCI is weekly index of avg. 40” spot rates on 8 key trade routes.
🏅Maritime Analytica: “The WCI shows continued post-spike rate erosion, with Asia–Med narrowing its premium sharply. WCI tracks average spot rates per 40ft container (FFE) on eight major routes, excluding surcharges.”

Maritime Analytica