In its third quarter results Maersk said that freight rates for its container shipping business, which it classifies as Ocean, were 5.5% higher than the same period in 2017 at $1,929 per feu. However, the average bunker price was some 47% higher in Q3 2018 compared to the same period a year earlier. The company said that total unit cost in Q3 was 7.1% higher than last year.
“Our business performance in Ocean is still challenged by increased bunker prices not being fully compensated through higher freight rates. However, we continue to see improved results in the third quarter after a very weak start to 2018,” Soren Skou, ceo of AP Moller – Maersk said.
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Maersk’s overall volumes grew 27% in Q3 2018 compared to a year earlier, excluding Hamburg Sud, volume growth was 5%, however, Q3 2017 volumes were impacted by the cyber-attack that hit Maersk globally last year.
“The Asia- Europe trade disappointed the most due to lower import from Asia to UK, Turkey and Mediterranean, but lower than expected volumes were realised on most trades. The volume development was slightly below market growth when adjusting for the cyber- attack in Q3 2017,” the company said.
EBITDA for its Ocean business in Q3 2018 was $925m up from $800m in the same period in the previous year.
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