ISRAEL's major liner operator ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) has become one of the first container operators to bleed red ink this year, due mainly to the troubled transpacific trade.

The New York-listed, Haifa-based company reported a net loss of US$58 million in the first quarter of the year - marking a stunning turnaround from the net income of $1.7 billion it reported in the same quarter last year.

Revenues for the first quarter were US$1.374 billion, a 63 per cent decline year over year.

Operating loss (EBIT) in the first quarter was $14 million, a dramatic reversal compared with operating income of $2.24 billion, according to media reports.

Carried volume in the first quarter was 769,000 TEU, a 10 per cent drop year on year, while the average freight cost per TEU was US$1,390, a 64 per cent decline year on year.

"Following a record year of adjusted EBITDA and EBIT generation, ZIM's first quarter results reflected the significant decline in freight rates and weak demand, particularly in the Transpacific trade, that began last year," stated Eli Glickman, ZIM president & CEO.

Mr Glickman further added, "As such, for 2023, we have re-affirmed the guidance we shared earlier in the year of Adjusted EBITDA of between US$1.8 billion and US$2.2 billion and adjusted EBIT of between US$100 million and US$500 million."