Maersk Line expects upward price momentum

The CEO of Maersk Line, Soren Skou has said that despite predictions, freight rates are picking up. Skou said while he was not satisfied with his company’s first quarter performance, he could see the market picking up in the coming months. “We expect the market to pick up towards the third quarter of 2016. Our network is now operating with very high utilisation and our vessels are full in the Asia-Europe trade.

“In this quarter, we expect some upward price momentum ahead of the traditional peak in the third quarter,” Skou said in a release on Friday. Maersk Line’s first quarter 2016 result was $37m, 94.9% lower than Q1 2015 on weak demand and record low freight rates. “The first quarter in 2016 was characterised by a continuation of the global rate war in container shipping, driven by weak demand and significant supply growth,” Maersk Line said in the release.

Maersk Line’s average rate decreased by 25.5% to a record low of $1,857 per Foot Equivalent Unit(FEU)