(3 November 2022 – Denmark) Danish shipping giant Maersk has cut its forecasts for container demand for 2022 and predicted the global economy will enter a recession.
Maersk manages 17 percent of international shipping and transports goods for companies such as Unilever and Walmart. Global shipping had a bumper 2021, when demand for international goods rebounded from the early days of the pandemic, and global trade hit a record US$28.5 trillion, a 25 percent jump from 2020 levels and 19 percent more than before the pandemic.
However demand for global trade is now entering a period of decline that could last well into 2023, according to Maersk, the world’s second-largest container shipping group.
The Copenhagen-based company lowered its outlook for the growth of 2022 global container demand to decline two to four percent from the previous estimate of +/- one percent.
“It's really hard to be very optimistic with a war on our doorstep and a bigger energy crisis this winter so that is impacting consumer confidence and therefore also demand.” He added: “Global trade is moving backward this year” stated Maersk CEO Soren Skou,