CMA CGM blames $77M loss on rising fuel costs

Dive Brief:

French shipping line CMA CGM posted a $77 million net loss for Q1 2018, citing a 19.4% increase in fuel prices and a 15% increase in volumes YoY.
To counteract the rising fuel costs, CMA CGM announced deployment of its Emergency Bunker Recovery Measures Friday, which will result in surcharges for CMA CGM's customers.
CMA CGM also reported a 17.1% increase in sales YoY, citing heavy traffic as the ocean shipping industry accelerates.

Dive Insight:

Volumes are increasing, so capacity is still tight for the ocean shipping industry. Combined with rising fuel costs due to a fickle oil industry, prices are finally starting to rise for shippers.

CMA CGM won't be the only shipping line to suffer from high fuel costs, so as more shipping lines post their Q1 2018 results, shippers may see rates rise substantially across the board.

Maersk Line and MSC have already added their own "emergency" fuel surcharges, citing oil costs between 20% and 30% higher than the start of the year.

Ocean carriers' pain may only be temporary. CMA CGM forecasts strong volume growth throughout 2018, and expects to recover some of the Q1 loss as the year wanes.