Maersk sees drop in global container demand this year

Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk warned of a sharp drop in global container volumes due to the coronavirus pandemic, sending its shares down sharply.

The coronavirus epidemic has thrown the global container shipping trade off balance as global supply chains have been upended and businesses and factory activity in China and later across the world was disrupted.

Maersk, which also reported a 23% rise in first-quarter core profits, now expects global container demand to contract this year, after previously forecasting growth of 1%-3%.

“As global demand continues to be significantly affected, we expect volumes in the second quarter to decrease across all businesses, possibly by as much as 20%-25%,” Chief Executive Soren Skou said in a statement.

Maersk shares were more than 5% lower at 0753 GMT. The shares have risen by a third since March when they reached their lowest level in more 10 years.

Maersk said it had cancelled more than 90 sailings, or 3.5% of total shipping capacity in the first quarter to deal with the slowdown in trade and keep freight rates from falling.