Asian Container Liners Set for Profit Drop as Tariff Boom Fades

Asian container liners’ profits might have just peaked.

A sharp drop in shipping rates could be on the cards later this year after tariff-driven demand in the second quarter pulled forward volumes from the traditional third-quarter peak season.

Transpacific trade picked up during the US-China tariff truce with freight prices up sharply in June. As capacity recovered, smaller players like China United Lines Ltd. even started resumed transpacific services after a period of absence.

Read: Tariff Truce Spurs Pacific Trade Rush, Boosting Global Shippers

“Container volume data seems to suggest that Chinese liners saw the greatest increase in demand during ...