OOCL reported a 45.1% increase in liner revenue during the third quarter of 2026, driven by solid demand and elevated freight rates on the transpacific and Asia-Europe trade lanes, putting the carrier on track for a highly profitable year.
Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) reported a robust third quarter in 2026, with strong revenue and volume growth driven mainly by demand on the transpacific and Asia-Europe trade lanes. The carrier, a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping, reported that its liner revenue rose 45.1% to US$3,284.8 million compared with the same period in 2025. Solid peak-season demand combined with elevated freight rates on those two trade lanes put the company on track for what is projected to be another highly profitable year.
OOCL's total liftings grew 9.0% in the quarter, while carrying capacity rose 3.6% and the overall load factor increased 4.2% compared with the same period in 2025. Overall average liner revenue per TEU climbed 33.1% year-on-year. Among the trade lanes driving these results, OOCL's volumes between Asia and North America increased 13.1% in the third quarter.
For the first nine months ended September 30, 2026, OOCL's liner revenue grew 18.9% and total liftings rose 6.5% compared with the same period of the prior year. Carrying capacity advanced 4.8% and the overall load factor improved 1.4%, while overall average revenue per TEU rose 11.6% year-on-year.
OOCL's performance comes against a backdrop of uneven market conditions between the two trade lanes. According to Container Trades Statistics data cited by analyst Lars Jensen, the transpacific trade posted a 10.8% year-on-year increase in August, reaching the second-highest volume on record for the lane, behind only August 2024. By contrast, Asia-Europe volumes contracted 1.7% year-on-year, breaking a growth trend that had been running at around 10% over the past two years, with spot rates on that lane also declining since mid-July.