The container industry achieved a profit of $59.3 billion in the first quarter, the industry's sixth consecutive quarter of record profits.

The McCown Container Results Observer noted that the results were more than three times higher than a year ago, a former record. Profitability also improved, with net income accounting for 45.1 percent of revenue, compared with 25.2 percent and 41.8 percent in the first and last quarters of 2021, respectively.

The report said: "By any financial measures, the first quarter of 2022 was the best quarterly actual performance in the history of the container shipping industry.

Amid record profit figures, container trade statistics show that global container volumes fell 1.8% in the first quarter, 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 1.2% in the third quarter of 2021.

The previous McCown report noted that profits from container lines in the third quarter of 2021 had outpaced those of the tech giants. In the first quarter of 2022, the container industry continued to outperform Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google.

McCown reported that the highest margins are for companies serving Asia-Europe and Asia-North America routes, as well as companies that have been able to launch new business in recent quarters. The container industry benefited from the impact of the COVID pandemic, as changing consumer habits in the West combined with port and factory closures disrupted the supply chain.