DHL marks increase in third quarter ocean freight volumes despite global supply constraints

DHL registered a 3.1% year-on-year increase in oceanborne freight in the third quarter despite global supply constraints, the German freight forwarder and logistics provider said Nov. 4.

"Despite a persistently tense situation worldwide, volumes in ocean freight still increased," the company said in a statement about Q3 earnings.

Higher freight rates had contributed to DHL's strong financial performance for the quarter, with EBIT for the company's freight forwarding division more than doubled to EUR 372 million ($430 million), it said.

"Revenue growth for ocean freight developed much more positively against the backdrop of increased ocean freight rates," DHL said.

Looking ahead, DHL expects earnings to track upwards through 2023 on sustained demand for e-commerce shipments and a gradual normalization of freight rates, it said.

Some ocean carriers reported sliding volumes during the third quarter amid global supply constraints that continue to hamper container mobility and draw out transit times. Danish carrier A.P. Moller-Maersk said Nov. 2 that its Q3 volumes contracted 2.3% on quarter and 0.6% on the year, even as profits soared on higher freight rates.

While a number was not provided by DHL, average global freight rates for both air and ocean trade have surged throughout the course of 2021.

The Platts Container Index, a weighted average of Platts' key assessments, jumped just over 415% on the year to average at $7,346/FEU for Q3 2021, on a Freight All Kinds basis.