The chief executive of shipping group AP Moller-Maersk has said any significant improvement in the fortunes of the shipping industry before 2011 is improbable, and that the company is not planning to absorb any of its competitors, reported Reuters.
“Right now, we are not looking at acquisitions,” Nils Andersen told reporters at a reception in Singapore.
His outlook for the industry’s medium-term future was bleak, but he said shipping rates had likely reached the lowest point of their fall. Rates have dropped dramatically in the last few months in response to declining trade.
“2009 will be very tough. If an improvement comes before the end of 2010, we will be positively surprised,” Mr Andersen said, adding that shipping lines would continue mothballing ships in the coming year to reduce capacity.
Despite that forecast, Mr Anderson said he expects Maersk to report good full-year earnings for 2008.
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