Shipping giant Maersk is predicting a better 2021 in a move that bodes well for the battered but now recovering global economy.
A rebound in retail sales in the United States has resulted in a quicker than expected resurgence in shipping demand, with Maersk now expecting EBITDA to weigh in between $8 billion and $8.5 billion, the company said, according to a Reuters report. That’s up roughly $500 million from its previous range of $7.5 billion to $8 billion.
The world’s largest shipping container line, headquartered in Copenhagen, is now looking ahead to new, albeit small, growth next year in the volume of goods and other products to be ferried across the world’s oceans on its ships.
Maersk executives said the second wave of the coronavirus failed to wreak the same degree of havoc and disruption that the first wave did back in the spring, when governments around the world ordered sweeping lockdowns, according to a separate Reuters report.
Rather, Maersk CEO Soren Skou noted, at a news briefing, per Reuters, that the second wave had only a “limited impact” in shipping container volumes.
The company has noted that both freight volume and rates are moving up as the shipping giant cruises into the fourth quarter.
Fueled in part by a surge in online retail sales, the global shipping comeback first became noticeable over the summer, PYMNTS reported, citing The Wall Street Journal. International container shipping volumes jumped 34.2 percent in August over February.
Barred from going to restaurants, bars and sporting events, consumers are spending money on goods ranging from flat screen TVs to new shoes, Skou said, according to Reuters.
“One thing we’ve learned is that it doesn’t really matter if a society is in lockdown or not, because consumers spend their money online instead of going to the mall,” he added, per Reuters.
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