by Lloyd's List
12 May 2025 (Lloyd's List) - TAIWAN’s leading container shipping lines — Evergreen, Yang Ming, and Wan Hai — all reported lower revenues in April as global trade faced headwinds from US tariff policies.
Evergreen posted consolidated revenue of TW$301bn ($991m), down 10.4% from March and 5.7% from a year earlier. Yang Ming’s revenue dropped 5.6% month on month and 16.4% year on year to TW$12.5bn. Wan Hai recorded T$11.4bn, a 3% monthly decrease but a 13.16% rise year on year.
Yang Ming attributed its decline to subdued market demand and falling freight rates, which eroded overall profitability.
However, Wan Hai highlighted strong performance in the intra-Asia segment, where freight rates surged over 30% year on year. These regional routes, which contribute approximately 40% of its total revenue, remained resilient and provided a solid foundation for growth.
The results came amid significant disruptions caused by the reciprocal tariffs announced by the Trump administration in early April, which over the weekend were soon suspended for 90 days for non-China trading partners.
Transpacific volumes declined noticeably, as the increase in shipments from other regions failed to offset the loss from China.
Amid weakening volumes and continued rate pressure, several major carriers, including Yang Ming, blanked their China-US sailings to trim capacity and shore up rates.
In a potential turning point, however, the US and China today issued a joint statement. According to a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Commerce, both nations agreed to suspend 91% of reciprocal tariffs and pause remaining duties for 90 days — marking the first meaningful step toward de-escalation since early 2025.
Analysts forecast a restocking surge on China-US shipping services as tariffs roll back. It is expected that cross-border flows of bulk commodities, manufacturing intermediates and high-tech components will stabilise, benefiting the container sector, in particular transpacific container services between China and the US.
