Israeli international cargo shipping company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services continued to record improvements and to expand its global network to its customers confronting challenging business environment.
ZIM has reported a net profit of USD 5 million for the third quarter of 2019, after returning to black in the second quarter of the year. (Compared: Net loss of $6.6 million in Q3 2018).
Eli Glickman, ZIM President & CEO, said: “In spite of the challenging market conditions, ZIM continued to record improved results in Q3, as it did throughout 2019. While the challenges in the market endure, the advantages gained by our global strategic cooperation and our customer focus enable us to pursue our goals and strengthen our position."
Glickman added: "We provide ever better services and a wider portfolio to customers, while achieving cost efficiencies and maintaining the levels of cargo carried. Our ongoing efforts in the spheres of customer experience and digitization also bear fruits, as we continue to focus on our customers’ needs and push for commercial excellence in all fields.”
The container shipping industry is dynamic and volatile and has been marked in recent years by instability, characterized by volatility in freight rates and bunker prices, as a result of ever-changing market environment and the extensive activity of mergers and acquisitions that also led to reorganization of the global alliances.
The instability and volatility in the market, including significant uncertainties in the global trade, mainly due to USA related trade restrictions, continue to affect the market environment.
Since the second half of 2018, freight rates started to recover, with a partial decrease during the first half of 2019, while bunker prices remained highly volatile.
In September 2018, ZIM launched its strategic operational cooperation with the “2M” Alliance (Maersk and MSC), in several lines between Asia and the US East-Coast.
During the first nine months of 2019 the cooperation was expanded in three additional trades: Asia - East Mediterranean, Asia - American Pacific Northwest and the Asia - US Gulf. Theses cooperation agreements enable ZIM to provide its customers with improved product portfolio, larger port coverage and better transit time, while generating cost efficiencies.
