“Oil” and “Dry” dual favorable-cycle drivers delivering impressive first-half performance for Shanghai-listed port and shipping companies

In the first half of 2026, the global shipping and port industry, under the combined impact of multiple factors, has entered a “spotlight moment.” Reporters from Economic Information Daily noted that the year-on-year growth rates of shipping companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) far exceeded expectations. Companies such as COSCO SHIPPING and Haitong Development saw their year-on-year increases in net profit reach multiple times in many cases. The port sector also showed “hard-core” performance: multiple data points—including Shanghai Port’s day-and-night container throughput and single working shift tonnage—hit record highs. Driven by the dual forces of the “oil shipping big era” and the “dry bulk new cycle,” the shipping industry’s supply-demand landscape continues to improve. Ports, leveraging strong growth in cargo throughput, are seizing early opportunities in green and intelligent transformation. Behind this impressive set of results lies the business steadiness and coordination capabilities demonstrated by major SSE-listed port and shipping enterprises in a complex environment.

Oil shipping and dry bulk shipping move together, and growth in performance sets records

Recently, COSCO SHIPPING’s performance forecast kicked off the shipping industry’s “harvest season” for the first half of the year. COSCO SHIPPING expects to achieve attributable net profit of 6.6 billion to 7.3 billion yuan in the first half of the year, surging 214% to 248% year on year. Profit in just half a year already exceeds the level for all of 2025, and almost all of it comes from recurring items. Haitong Development’s forecast indicates profit growth of 475% to 532%. Xingtong Shares expects net profit to increase by 55% to 65%.

The collective “green shoots” in the performance of SSE-listed shipping companies confirms the industry’s high level of business optimism. COSCO SHIPPING said its high growth in performance is driven by “dual-line strength” in its two main businesses—oil shipping and dry bulk shipping—while container and roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) businesses also rebound. The international tanker transportation market has entered a super boom cycle. In some routes, spot freight rates have reached record highs. COSCO SHIPPING’s VLCC (very large crude carrier) fleet is the largest globally, and its relatively young vessel age structure brings clear operational cost advantages. In the second quarter, the company responded flexibly to disruptions in the strait navigation channels, achieving another 50% quarter-on-quarter increase in quarterly profits. In the second quarter, its dry bulk segment also performed strongly, with a performance growth rate reaching the highest level in the same period in recent years.

Market analysts point out that the industry’s explosive performance growth is the result of multiple factors converging. In the first half of the year, frequent geopolitical conflicts led to a decline in effective shipping capacity. Global fleets faced a supply bottleneck characterized by “fewer new additions, faster eliminations, and low efficiency,” further tightening the tight supply-and-demand balance and providing solid support for freight rates. On the demand side, performance was also strong. Favorable foreign trade data, combined with companies’ inventory replenishment needs, boosted dry bulk markets. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) (Baltic Dry Index for dry bulk shipping) steadily recovered, while the oil shipping market also entered a “super cycle.” Haitong Development, focusing on international deep-sea dry bulk transportation, benefited from the shift upward of the freight rate central level. Xingtong Shares, as a leading domestic coastal chemical shipping enterprise, also seized structural opportunities in chemical shipping.

It is also worth noting that companies’ confidence in the market for the second half remained high. “The global tanker ‘super cycle’ is gradually entering a better phase, and there is a high probability that the dry bulk market’s business conditions will continue to improve,” COSCO SHIPPING said. The company will seize the upturn window for the industry and continue to release potential for operating growth. Given that supply constraints are unlikely to change in the short term while demand resilience still exists, the shipping industry’s high business optimism is expected to continue.

Port throughput hits new highs, as green intelligence becomes a race

Mirroring the shipping industry, the port sector delivered steady growth. In the first five months of 2026, China’s total value of goods import and export increased 15.3% year on year. Strong foreign trade orders provided ample cargo sources for coastal hub ports, and the operational data highlights from SSE-listed port enterprises were plentiful.

Port of Shanghai Group delivered particularly impressive performance. In the first half of the year, the company expects to complete parent-port container throughput of 28.737 million standard boxes, up 6.2%; and cargo throughput of 30.478 million tons, up 2.7%. On June 9, Shanghai Port’s day-and-night container throughput reached 187,312 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), breaking the record of 174,338 TEU set on October 30, 2025. Single shift operations completed 68,088 TEU, refreshing the historic peak set in 2023. As the world’s largest container port, these figures not only represent numerical breakthroughs, but also demonstrate the group’s world-class operational scheduling and coordination capabilities.

Ningbo Port and Guangzhou Port also turned in steady answers. Ningbo Port expects first-half container throughput of 27.691 million standard boxes, up 8.7%. International container routes increased to 260, connecting more than 700 ports in over 200 countries and regions, providing efficient support for the Yangtze River Delta manufacturing clusters. Guangzhou Port expects first-half container throughput of 13.891 million standard boxes, up 3.6%. Its seaborne grain unloading volume for foreign trade increased by 34.5%, and exports of passenger cars exceeded 400,000 units—precisely capturing market opportunities for new energy vehicle exports.

More importantly, leading enterprises are investing heavily to “take positions” in the green and intelligent track and seize the commanding height of future competition. In the first half of 2026, Ningbo Port accelerated the construction of a smart green port. It achieved full coverage of self-developed TOS (Terminal Operating System) for container terminals, and the port operation system realized end-to-end independent and controllable operations. Guangzhou Port said that on May 15, 2026, the country’s major project—Phase V of the Guangzhou Nansha Port Area—was officially fully started. The project’s designed annual container throughput capacity is 6.7 million standard boxes. After completion, the Nansha Port Area’s container throughput capacity will reach 35 million standard boxes. The scale will rank among the top in the world for a single port area, further enhancing the ability of the Greater Bay Area as an international shipping hub and helping build a world-class port cluster in the Greater Bay Area.

Integrated development of ports and shipping, with both internal and external strengths to build long-term value

The port and shipping industry in the first half of the year benefited not only from performance increases catalyzed by external factors, but also from enterprises’ ongoing efforts to “build internal strength.” Shipping enterprises capture freight-rate benefits in complex environments by flexibly adjusting routes and optimizing fleet structures. Ports strengthen their ability to support the industrial chain by improving operational efficiency and increasing route frequency through denser route networks. The synergy created by both makes the vision of “smooth flow of cargo” become reality.

Industry insiders point out that this synergy is especially evident in the Yangtze River Delta and the Greater Bay Area. Ningbo Port’s route network is deeply bound to the Yangtze River Delta manufacturing clusters. Guangzhou Port’s automobile export data and the new energy vehicle industry in the Pearl River Delta move in sync with each other. And the throughput growth of Port of Shanghai Group reflects the hub capacity of the Shanghai International Shipping Center. Port and shipping enterprises are no longer isolated transportation nodes; they are key links embedded in the global supply chain.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the industry’s business optimism center may remain at a high level. Supply constraints for the shipping industry are unlikely to change in the short term, and the positive logic for the oil shipping and dry bulk markets will continue to strengthen. Ports will also benefit from deeper green smart transformation, further improving operational efficiency and resilience to risks. With dual attributes of both defensiveness and growth, the long-term value of SSE-listed port and shipping segments is increasingly emerging, contributing ongoing momentum to serving the security of the country’s industrial chain and supply chain.