Israeli container line Zim has fallen to a loss in the first quarter as boxship rates fell.

The company said its net deficit was $56m to 31 March, compared to a profit of $12m a year ago.

It carried 577,000 teu, up 3% from 2015, but the average freight rate per teu was $943, down 25% from 2015.

Revenue dropped 20% to $630m, while adjusted EBITDA was cut to $8m against $85m the year before.

Zim