The increase in freight rates since the start of the pandemic has been a huge boon toMaersk. But the Danish naval giant warns that its business will soon face difficult times.
The company said Wednesday that the looming global recession is expected to reduce container demand by between 2% and 4% in 2022, with “a lot of dark clouds on the horizon.”
Shares in Maersk, seen as a barometer of the health of the economy due to the company’s exposure to the movement of goods around the world, fell nearly 6%. The stock has dropped 35% so far this year.
While Maersk posted record fourth quarter profits due to “remarkably high freight rates”, it said prices started to drop towards the end of the period “due to weak customer demand, coupled with the fact that markets have started returning to normal with fewer interruptions. ” supply chain ”and less crowded and congested ports.
In addition, the volumes of maritime transport have decreased. Chief Executive Soren Sko said the decline is “a clear sign that the consumer is not spending as much money as in recent years, and perhaps also a sign that many of our customers have too much stock.”
He added that consumption in general was “burdened with very negative emotions”.
“I’m not a macroeconomist, but I would be surprised if Europe wasn’t in a recession right now,” Scu said. He believes the US will likely follow suit “next year,” according to what he told CNN and seen by Al Arabiya.net.
