The company's ferries also transported 948 thousand private vehicles, up 3.5% on the January-September 2022 result.

At the same time, the shipping line's fleet filled 28.9m lane metres with wheeled cargo (some 1.6m ro-ro freight units, counting 18 m per truck/trailer), down 9.9% year-on-year.

DFDS' trade lane Channel totalled almost 12m lm (-16.1% yoy), followed by North Sea (which includes the Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhagen and Amsterdam-Newcastle services) - 10.5m lm (-2.5% yoy), Mediterranean - 4.0m lm (-3% yoy), and Baltic Sea - 2.4m lm (-16.3% yoy).

"Europe's growth outlook flattened during Q3 as higher interest rates raised cost levels. Inflation declined further, but uncertainty remains elevated, also due to geopolitical events," DFDS wrote in its market overview.

The company furthered, "Freight volumes remained generally soft in Q3, reflecting the continued uncertainty. Energy prices increased in the quarter but remained considerably below last year."

"On a sector level, volumes from the automotive sector remained robust as it continues to fulfil demand backlogs. Conversely, transport flows of building materials decreased during the quarter. The trade imbalance between continental Europe and the UK increased in the quarter, leading to an increase in empty freight units returning to the Continent."