Yesterday, A.P. Moller-Maersk came out with a statement, saying Europe is close to entering a recession and the North American economy may not be far behind.
Maersk chief executive Soren Skou said: “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. It’s quite likely that we either are or will soon be in a recession, certainly in Europe but potentially also in the US.”
Maersk said it expects global container demand to decline two per cent to four per cent this year, compared with previously guiding demand at the lower end of a range of plus or minus one per cent. The forecast sent Maersk’s shares down as much as 5.7 per cent in early trading on Wednesday.
“There are plenty of dark clouds on the horizon. This weighs on consumer purchasing power, which in turn impacts global transportation and logistics demand,” the company said in its third-quarter earnings report.
Source: leaderpost.com