Executives at container shipping line Zim say freight rates will have to increase because much of the industry is now losing money as shipping and logistics costs return to normal following several years of disruption caused by COVID.
Container rates more than quadrupled following the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, rising particularly steeply in 2021, but have since fallen back close to pre-pandemic levels.
Zim reported a net loss of $58 million (€54 million) in the first quarter, but managers at the New York Stock Exchange-listed freight carrier are sticking by their forecast of a return to profitability in the second half of the year.
