Maersk Line slumped to a $599 million operating loss in the first quarter from a $424 million profit a year earlier as collapsing freight rates on the key Asia-Europe route outweighed double-digit growth in container volume.
But Danish parent A.P. Moller-Maersk upgraded its 2012 forecast for the carrier to “negative up to neutral” from a loss guidance in February on the assumption rate hikes since March will continue through the year.