Out with the old, on with the new – which can only be good news for the maritime industry, according to Maersk Line Asia-Pacific ceo Jesper Praestensgaard, who describes 2009 as ‘the worst year for both the shipping industry and Maersk Line since World War II,’ reports the Business Times of Singapore. Praestensgaard predicted: ‘We believe there is a positive momentum for growth, due to a pick up in demand and efforts to curb capacity increases. But it will be a modest growth rate compared with an industry yearly average of 10 per cent in the past 30 years. It will be a while more before traditional consumer markets like the US and Europe return to their former strength, and this contributes to the modest growth rates we must expect in the near future in container volumes.’
From Seatrade Asia, January 1, 2010
