German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd anticipates a substantial drop in earnings this year, citing Middle East conflicts that are disrupting trade flows, driving up operational expenses, and coinciding with an expected decline in freight rates and a slowdown in market growth.

The world's fifth-largest container shipping line by capacity projected its 2026 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to range between €900 million and €2.6 billion (equivalent to $1.04 billion to $3.01 billion). The company also forecasted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to fall between a loss of €1.3 billion and a profit of €400 million.

This outlook represents a significant decrease compared to the €3.19 billion EBITDA and €950 million EBIT the company reported for 2025.

Since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East nearly four weeks ago, container shipping operators like Hapag-Lloyd have been compelled to suspend major maritime routes to and from the region, rerouting vessels onto longer journeys to avoid the conflict zone.

Chief Executive Officer Rolf Habben Jansen stated, "At the beginning of 2026, adverse weather conditions impacted our performance, and the conflict in the Middle East is now causing considerable network disruptions and sharply increasing our operational costs."

"In this context, we expect earnings for 2026 to be below the level achieved in 2025."