EUROPE is close to entering a recession and the US economy may not be far behind, said AP Moller-Maersk CEO Soren Skou, reports Bloomberg.
'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,' said Mr Skou in an interview. 'It's quite likely that we either are or will soon be in a recession, certainly in Europe, but potentially in the US.'
The Danish shipping giant said it expects global container demand to decline two 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.
'There are plenty of dark clouds on the horizon,' the company said in its third-quarter earnings report. 'This weighs on consumer purchasing power which in turn impacts global transportation and logistics demand,' he said.
'Global trade is moving backwards this year. Certainly durable goods are down - probably a lot of people overinvested in durable goods in the early part of the pandemic, and then of course we see the effect of the slowing economy, the war in Europe and what that has done to consumer confidence,' he said.
Maersk, which controls about one-sixth of the world's container trade, said earlier this week that freight rates have come down faster than expected and warehouses in the US and Europe are filling up as consumer demand for goods declines.
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'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,' said Mr Skou in an interview. 'It's quite likely that we either are or will soon be in a recession, certainly in Europe, but potentially in the US.'
The Danish shipping giant said it expects global container demand to decline two 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.
'There are plenty of dark clouds on the horizon,' the company said in its third-quarter earnings report. 'This weighs on consumer purchasing power which in turn impacts global transportation and logistics demand,' he said.
'Global trade is moving backwards this year. Certainly durable goods are down - probably a lot of people overinvested in durable goods in the early part of the pandemic, and then of course we see the effect of the slowing economy, the war in Europe and what that has done to consumer confidence,' he said.
Maersk, which controls about one-sixth of the world's container trade, said earlier this week that freight rates have come down faster than expected and warehouses in the US and Europe are filling up as consumer demand for goods declines.
SeaNews Turkey
