"We are seeing for the first time a clear upward trend," Chief Executive Michael Behrendt told journalists.
Hapag-Lloyd, partly owned by TUI AG, will charge $412 more for a standard container from early April, he added.
"Satisfactory" results could be expected in the third quarter, Behrendt said.
Margins in the shipping industry came under pressure last year when the two largest companies Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) undercut each other on freight rates. High fuel prices have squeezed margins further.
Germany travel and tourism group TUI AG in February said it may try again to float its stake in Hapag-Lloyd as part of its bid to exit completely from the shipping business, after it failed to agree a full sale to the container shipper's other shareholder.
Hapag CEO Behrendt said that reporting good results over two quarters was a precondition for trying to go public again after an IPO was called off last year.
"We have to show investors that we are back to normal," CEO Behrend said. (Reuters)
