Zhitong Financial APP learned that BoCom International issued a research report, raising the profit forecast of COSCO Ocean Holdings (01919) to reflect the rising freight rates, believing that under the high freight rates, the company is expected to achieve strong profits again in the second to third quarters of 2021. The peak season comes early, and the cargo volume of sea control also remains at the peak level. The target price was raised by 42.9% from HK $17 to HK $24.3, maintaining a "buy" rating based on 2.2 times forecast price-to-book in 2021.

The report said the delay at Yantian could have a knock-on effect on the entire supply chain, including exacerbating the shortage of containers and equipment at ports in southern China, and rerouting posed further challenges to land transport. The bank expects supply bottlenecks to continue into the fourth quarter of 2021. While demand for goods in western countries is likely to ease compared with the first half of the year, shipments in the second half of the year are expected to remain robust after the outbreak has eased, given that retailers and manufacturers have rebuilt inventories after the recovery in western economies. The American Retail Association raised its forecast for the growth rate of US container imports, saying that in the second and third quarters of this year, container imports increased by 6.5% month-on-month and fell by 0.1%, up 38.9% and 7.5% from the same period last year.