Maersk blames disappointing European imports for weak container trade

Maersk has blamed disappointing levels of imports from the UK, Turkey and the Mediterranean from China for “weaker than expected” global container trade figures in the third quarter of 2018.

While Maersk increased its volumes by 5% in this quarter, excluding Hamburg Sud, these figures are skewed by the fact that the third quarter of 2017 was when a cyber-attack hit Maersk’s volumes.

Two other worries are the rising bunker price and the threat of a trade war between China and the USA.