Hapag-Lloyd, Matson, and Other Shipping Companies Face Significant Risks

Due to the current international trade situation, several shipping companies are facing substantial risks.

The chart below, created by Linerlytica, illustrates the container shipping routes in the Pacific region most affected by the trade war, which has caused a significant slowdown in business between the two largest economies in the world.

According to Linerlytica's research, Hede, Matson, SeaLead, TS Lines, and COSCO are facing the highest direct risks.

In its latest weekly report, the liner company noted, "The trade deadlock continues to dampen sentiment in the container market, and tariff concessions are far from enough to restore cargo volumes in the Pacific region. Reports indicate that bookings from China will drop by 30%-60% in the next three weeks, and bookings from other parts of Asia will decline by 10%-20%."

Linerlytica further pointed out that the upcoming Labor Day holiday may suppress May's freight demand, potentially forcing carriers to cancel more sailings in the coming weeks to prevent further declines in freight rates.

Data from Clarksons Research shows that 6% of global container trade, measured by TEU, involves imports from China to the United States, and these imports will now be subject to at least 145% in high tariffs. An additional 8% of imports are at a 10% tariff baseline.

Sea-Intelligence analysts warned on Sunday, "For smaller carriers, the trade war's impact is especially destructive. Most of them rely heavily on cargo from China and lack the ability to suddenly switch to goods from non-China sources. For some of these companies, we could foresee them shutting down all services during the trade war."

In the coming months, global carriers will concentrate on fewer U.S. ports while shifting some China routes to other Asian manufacturing hubs.

Related data reflects that the effects of the trade war are starting to show up in port statistics.