We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Maersk posts massive 2016 loss; company sees better days ahead
newsworthy

Maersk posts massive 2016 loss; company sees better days ahead

February 8, 2017
DC Velocity Staff
No Comments

Danish container shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk reported today that it lost $1.9 billion in 2016, only its second annual loss in 70 years, as it struggled through an extraordinarily difficult cycle of vessel overcapacity and subpar shipping demand. Revenue fell 2.6 percent, to $8.89 billion.

The Copenhagen-based company also cut its dividend by half and said its chairman, Michael Pram Rasmussen, would step down on March 28 and be replaced by Jim Hagemann Snabe, the former chief executive of German technology giant SAP.

The company, calling the results "unsatisfactory," sought to reassure analysts that 2017 would be a better year, predicting a $1 billion profit improvement at Maersk Line, the world's largest liner shipping firm by capacity. Maersk Line, which moves the equivalent of 15 percent of global gross domestic product, lost $376 million last year, $155 million of that in the fourth quarter. But revenue rose 2.4 percent in the quarter, its first quarterly revenue gain since 2014.

The company said today that shipping demand is currently exceeding supply for the first time since 2010. Søren Skou, CEO of the parent and Maersk Line, tweeted that the industry's "supply and demand fundamentals are looking reasonable now, and for at least the first three quarters of this year."

"The supply and demand fundamentals are looking reasonable now and for at least the first three quarters of this year," says CEO Søren Skou. https://t.co/e7koMvvpoB

— Maersk (@Maersk) February 8, 2017

Maersk announced last September that it would split into two divisions by year's end, with the parent retaining control of the transportation and logistics operations and its energy business being separated into its own unit. The transport and logistics unit consists of the liner business, terminal operator APM Terminals Management BV, and logistics company Damco International BV.

Skou has said the transport unit will put added emphasis in 2017 and beyond on third-party logistics (3PL) type operations that will take Maersk beyond its traditional role as a port-to-port carrier. In what could be a sign of a change in how Maersk does business, it signed a deal late last year with Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba allowing Maersk's Chinese customers to use Alibaba's website to book space aboard Maersk's vessels.

Maersk is also aggressively moving into the world of big data and analytics in an effort to improve equipment utilization and customer service. Maersk spends about $1 billion a year moving empty containers, a sum that doesn't include the costs of tracking the boxes.

By using analytics to gain deeper visibility into its global operations, Maersk said it would be able to forecast equipment movements two months out instead of being limited to the traditional four-week window. This would enable the liner to better match containers and available cargo, thus reducing the frequency of empty container movements, it said.

Transportation Maritime & Ocean
KEYWORDS Alibaba Maersk Line
  • Related Articles

    First half of 2010 sees better days for transport but can it continue?

    Old Dominion clocks another strong quarter; YRC posts quarterly income versus 2014 loss

    USPS posts multibillion loss in FY 2017 despite gains in package revenue, volume

Recent Articles by DC Velocity Staff

CMA/CGM to add LNG-powered ships to U.S. service

Buyers could target warehousing and fulfillment operations in 2021, investment bank says

North American entries rank high in Toyota Material Handling design contest

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Relaxed regulations for drone parcel delivery to take effect in March

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • Increasing Urgency for Vaccine Supplies Drives Launch of New Vaccine Manufacturing Resources on Thomasnet.com

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

  • IBM survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Ef7899d1 1c83 487b 9291 8af692931c96

myQ Dock Management

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Introducing myQ Dock Management. Connect your loading dock equipment and iDock Controls from Poweramp, McGuire, or DLM to the cloud and view your loading activity online with myQ Dock Management.Facilities with myQ can monitor the real-time status of their docks and be proactive in improving efficiency and safety. ...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

  • Shaping Up Last Mile Delivery to Surpass Customer Expectations

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing