CEO Soren Skou from Danish container operator Maersk Line, sent out a warning that global box traffic will rise 3% to 5% in 2016 while a 9% capacity increase will further destroy freight rates restorations.
The statement was made by Mr. Skou during Capital Markets Day, Maersk Line annual event. Year’s growth would be 2% to 4% cent but higher next year.
Soren Skou continues by stating “The only rational thing for lines to do is to take capacity out” despite the flood of new mega-ships that have been coming on line. He also saw an on-going ‘unprecedented bloating of global containership order books”, including many eye-popping orders by Maersk.
The container carrier is cancelling 30 scheduled shipping services in the months to come . This more than double the capacity extraction of the same period in 2014. It includes cutting the main AE9 loop, and one of its West Central Asia-Europe services, reducing capacity on that trade by 16%.
Its ME5 service, linking the western Mediterranean, Red Sea and Horn of Africa with India, is being discontinued next month, and to compensate port calls would be added to its ME1, ME2 and ME3 services, while a dedicated feeder shuttle between Chennai, Colombo and Salalah will be launched.
