Matson profit surges 30% on China shipping demand
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The day’s most important moves across every mode — air, rail, road, ocean and the trade that ties them together.
| ● On the Wire |
WED · AUG 5 · 2026 |
5 stories |
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Port Houston is investing in infrastructure like expanding the Houston Ship Channel to support larger ships and more efficient flow of cargo. Choose Port Houston for your cargo needs.
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OCEAN · EARNINGS
BY STUART CHIRLS · AMERICAN SHIPPER · AUG 4, 2026
Ocean Network Express posted first-quarter revenue of $4.54 billion and a $31 million profit, prompting the Japanese carrier to triple its full-year profit guidance to $900 million as freight rates and margins outpaced last year’s results.
| THE TAKE — Rate strength gave ONE room to raise guidance well above where it started the year, but bunker costs also climbed sharply alongside it — shippers negotiating contracts should watch whether carriers pass continued fuel inflation through as rate hikes once the current demand surge cools. |
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OCEAN · EARNINGS
Matson’s second-quarter net income climbed to $129.4 million as revenue rose nearly 17% to $969.4 million, driven by a jump in China service volume and stronger ocean transportation margins, prompting the carrier to raise its full-year outlook.
| THE TAKE — Southeast Asia cargo now makes up a growing share of Matson’s China strings — shippers routing through Hawaii and West Coast gateways should watch for capacity shifting toward those lanes as the carrier leans further into transpacific demand. |
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AIR · EARNINGS
Lufthansa Cargo’s second-quarter revenue rose 27% to roughly $1.2 billion as yields to Asia jumped 30%, with executives crediting server-rack and AI-hardware shipments alongside a $682 million Frankfurt hub upgrade meant to help the carrier climb back into cargo’s global top three by 2030.
| THE TAKE — AI-hardware shipments are becoming a real air cargo demand driver rather than just a talking point — shippers moving high-value electronics or data-center gear should expect continued capacity investment and yield pressure on Asia lanes as carriers chase this traffic. |
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OCEAN · PORTS
Port Houston and the Port of Corpus Christi both posted record cargo volumes in the first half of the year, with Houston’s June container traffic up 18% and Corpus Christi logging a record 55.8 million tons for the quarter on strong LNG and agricultural exports, even as steel imports remain below year-ago levels amid tariff uncertainty.
| THE TAKE — Steel tonnage is still down year-to-date even after a sharp June bump, a sign tariff-driven ordering patterns remain choppy rather than settled — shippers in steel-adjacent supply chains should plan for continued volatility rather than assume the recent rebound holds. |
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OCEAN · PORTS
The Port of New York-New Jersey moved 503,016 loaded TEUs in June, a 7.6% year-over-year increase, as an earlier, front-loaded peak season tied to shifting trade policy pushed overall monthly volume up nearly 12% even though first-half totals stayed roughly flat.
| THE TAKE — A compressed, earlier peak means the usual fall surge may look softer by comparison — East Coast shippers should build flexibility into Q3/Q4 capacity planning rather than assume this summer’s pace carries straight through peak season. |
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OCT 27–28, 2026 · THE SIGNAL AT CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO · CHATTANOOGA, TN
FreightWaves’ flagship freight festival returns to Chattanooga with industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire tech demos and the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner reveal of the FreightTech25 and Shipper of Choice winners.
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American Shipper · The Daily — published weekdays
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