Asia/Pacific News
Maersk CEO: Europe-Asia Trade Expanding
Falling costs in Europe and a shift toward a more consumption-driven economy in China are increasing trade on the Europe-Asia route, Nils Andersen, CEO of A.P. Moeller-Maersk (Maersk) told CNBC television show "Squawk on the Street."
"You see the Chinese government steering away from being an export and investment-led economy to being an import, domestic consumption and local wealth driven economy," he said.
Andersen said Maersk's ships return from Europe to Asia with much of their capacity unused after delivering Chinese exports, but that allows for lower rates for goods moving from Europe.
"They go back underutilised for sure, and that means there's a lot of opportunity to offer good rates to our export customers in Europe and grow that business," he said.
Andersen also said the company will work to minimise the impact of its new Triple E, 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) ships on the already oversupplied containership market, bringing the ships into operation gradually and removing smaller ships from its routes to compensate.
"This is not the optimal time to put in capacity so that's why we are putting in the capacity gradually," he said.
Andersen said earlier this year that Chinese imports will be a key opportunity for Maersk.
