Bellwether Moller-Maersk upbeat about container market

Danish shipping and oil group Moller-Maersk raised its earnings forecast after a strong third quarter, pointing to an upturn in the container shipping market that should augur well for the global economy.

The group’s Maersk Line unit, the world’s largest container shipping line and accounting for about 50 per cent of group revenue, said its transported volumes rose 11 per cent in the third quarter.

The business is seen as a bellwether for the global economy as its vessels make up 15 per cent of the world’s container shipping capacity. “The global market showed encouraging growth of around 5 per cent in Q3 . . . showing early indications of demand picking up,” Maersk said yesterday in its earnings report.

Maersk Line’s revenues fell to $6.78 billion, hit by a 12 per cent year-on-year drop in freight rates. However net profit rose 11 per cent to $554 million, exceeding average forecasts of $521 million in a Reuters poll thanks to cost cuts and lower fuel prices.

Sydbank analyst Jacob Pedersen said the report reflected early signs of an improvement in the global economy. “It seems that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Maersk chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen told reporters on a conference call that he did not expect annual growth in the global container shipping market to exceed 5 per cent in the coming years. “We want to grow with the market. We are not interested in gaining market share in a low-cost situation.” – (Reuters)