Carriers are themselves driving the rates \u2018race to the bottom\u2019 they warned would lead to a \u201cdire situation\u201d in 2024 \u2013 Maersk singled out as one of the worst offenders.<\/p>\n
Announcing the group\u2019s third-quarter flop last week, the Danish carrier\u2019s CEO Vincent Clerc told investors that, without an uptick on the spot market in the final three months, the coming year would prove difficult for ocean shipping.<\/p>\n
His comments, though, received sharp shrift from the wider supply chain, with Rhenus\u2019s head of ocean freight for the Americas, Stephanie Loomis, describing them as \u201ccomical.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted on social media: \u201cI find it comical that Clerc is warning of a \u2018dire\u2019 situation if rate levels did not improve before the end of the year. These under-market Maersk offers keep \u2018showing up\u2019 in co-loaders\u2019 rate sheets, week after week.<\/p>\n
But Maersk is not the only carrier behaving like this: sources claim \u201cthey are all at it.\u201d<\/p>\n