On Friday, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc joined Bloomberg TV’s Dani Burger and Mark Cudmore in an interview, discussing what’s ahead for global trade. The shipping exec said, “Our case is not for a recession, but it is for a really subdued environment that will continue for the rest of this year.”
The expectation is “to see some recovery in the market in 2024 and getting back to positive growth territory,” Clerc said.
While discussing the global economy, he said his team is “still quite concerned… there are a lot of moving parts right now, from rate hikes and the risk of recession,” as well as “uncertainty also about GDP growth in China and what demand is going to be in China next year.”
Container shipping depends entirely on globalization trends and enjoyed the most significant boom ever during the 2020-22 Covid era as retailers and other companies restocked inventories to meet pent-up demand from consumers flushed with stimulus checks. But since early 2022, container rates have plunged amid a monetary tightening campaign by global central banks to tame hot inflation that has stymied demand.
Read more: Major Shipper Maersk Warns Of Prolonged And Deeper Downturn In Global Trade
