Japan’s ocean lines face profit decline amid tariff impact

Core Insights - Japan's largest ocean shipping lines experienced a significant decline in Q2 profits due to the U.S. tariff war, leading to a downward revision of their 2025 forecasts [1][3] Financial Performance - Ocean Network Express reported Q2 revenue of $4.46 billion, a 24% decrease from $5.9 billion in the same quarter last year, with net profit dropping 86% to $285 million from $1.9 billion [1] - The joint venture of K Line, MOL, and NYK saw EBITDA fall to $881 million from $2.4 billion, and EBIT decrease to $282 million from $2.5 billion [2][3] Market Dynamics - Container volume increased by 1%, lagging behind the industry-wide growth of 3.7%, while revenue per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) dropped by 24.8%, closely matching the CTS decrease of 24.9% [4] - The U.S. trade war negatively impacted trans-Pacific volumes, with eastbound volumes down 2.6% and westbound volumes down 26.7% year-over-year [4] Operational Metrics - Vessel utilization on the eastbound trans-Pacific route fell from 100% to 91% year-over-year, while westbound utilization dropped from 39% to 24% [5] Outlook - The company maintains a cautious outlook for the full year, revising full-year EBIT down from $400 million to $250 million and profit from $700 million to $310 million, anticipating negative results in the second half year-over-year [3]