, Columnist
Taxpayers Miss Out on Shipping’s Pandemic Profit Bonanza
Container shippers’ unprecedented windfall has gone virtually untouched by governments. Either use profits responsibly or risk a backlash.
Shipping containers at the Behala inland port in Berlin, Germany.
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Container-shipping companies have found lots of ways to spend their enormous pandemic profits. They’re lifting staff pay, making acquisitions and returning heaps of cash to shareholders.
One person who won’t benefit much is you, the taxpayer. Based on their recent financial filings, I calculate big European container lines AP Moller-Maersk A/S, CMA CGM SA and Hapag-Lloyd AG owe just 1% or 2% of their bumper shipping profits in taxes.