Joseph Bonney/Senior Editor | Apr 13, 2012 11:07AM EDT
Maersk Line expects to lose money this year despite recent rate increases, A.P. Moller-Maersk Chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen told shareholders at the parent company’s annual meeting.
The largest container ship line expects a “negative result in 2012” as “a consequence of excess capacity,” Rasmussen said. A.P. Moller-Maersk expects a group-wide profit, but it will be less than 2011 levels, he said.
“Maersk Line will place specific focus on profitability, partly with rate increases and partly with increased competitiveness, achieved through continued savings and efficiency improvements,” Rasmussen said.
He said Maersk regained market share last year and ended the year with a share of about 15.5 percent of the global container market.
Maersk and other lines have been announcing rate increases after container lines lost a combined $6 billion-plus in 2011. Rasmussen noted Maersk sought two increases this year, one of $750 per 20-foot-equivalent unit and one of $400 per TEU, and achieved about $1,000.
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