{"id":77490,"date":"2026-02-05T15:22:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shipping.einnews.com\/article\/889713449"},"modified":"2026-02-05T15:22:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:22:52","slug":"maersk-flags-2026-earnings-hit-as-suez-return-overcapacity-hit-freight-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/maersk-flags-2026-earnings-hit-as-suez-return-overcapacity-hit-freight-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Maersk flags 2026 earnings hit as Suez return, overcapacity hit freight rates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img data-opt-id=758893364  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" 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https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/files\/2026\/02\/5.-2026-02-05T071646Z_2_LYNXMPEM140BN_RTROPTP_4_TOTW-TRADE.jpg?ssl=1&w=800&resize=800&ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/files\/2026\/02\/5.-2026-02-05T071646Z_2_LYNXMPEM140BN_RTROPTP_4_TOTW-TRADE.jpg?ssl=1&w=1024&resize=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/files\/2026\/02\/5.-2026-02-05T071646Z_2_LYNXMPEM140BN_RTROPTP_4_TOTW-TRADE.jpg?ssl=1&w=1280&resize=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/files\/2026\/02\/5.-2026-02-05T071646Z_2_LYNXMPEM140BN_RTROPTP_4_TOTW-TRADE.jpg?ssl=1&w=1600&resize=1600&ssl=1 1600w\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/files\/2026\/02\/5.-2026-02-05T071646Z_2_LYNXMPEM140BN_RTROPTP_4_TOTW-TRADE.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"ra-player\" data-skin=\"https:\/\/assets.readaloudwidget.com\/embed\/skins\/default\">\n<div class=\"ra-button\"> Listen to this article<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><audio id=\"ra-audio\" data-lang=\"en-US\" data-voice=\"Amazon Joanna\" data-key=\"9a894192b5d95537bb1afa80262745f5\"><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"box shadow\">\n<div class=\"box-inner-block\"><i class=\"tieicon-boxicon\"><\/i> <\/p>\n<p><strong>KEY TAKEAWAYS:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/blog\/tag\/maersk\/\" class=\"st_tag internal_tag \" rel=\"tag\" title=\"Posts tagged with Maersk\">Maersk<\/a> warns <a href=\"https:\/\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/blog\/tag\/freight-rates\/\" class=\"st_tag internal_tag \" rel=\"tag\" title=\"Posts tagged with freight rates\">freight rates<\/a> could sharply cut earnings.<\/li>\n<li>New ships and Red Sea route reopening boost capacity.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/blog\/tag\/global-shipping\/\" class=\"st_tag internal_tag \" rel=\"tag\" title=\"Posts tagged with global shipping\">Global shipping<\/a> demand remains strong despite pressure.<\/li>\n<li>Company plans cost cuts including job reductions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Danish shipping giant Maersk said on Thursday falling freight rates, driven by container-vessel overcapacity and the gradual resumption of shorter Red Sea routes, could halve earnings in 2026, dragging its shares down sharply.\n<\/p>\n<p>Maersk, which reported a fourth-quarter operating profit roughly in line with forecasts, expects strong demand for shipping goods at sea, boosted by consumer spending, but an influx of new vessels and an expected full resumption of Red Sea routes that cut journey times will weigh on freight rates.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew ships are coming in, and at the same time, shipping through the Red Sea is likely to reopen, which will free up ship capacity. All of this will put pressure on freight rates this year,\u201d CEO Vincent Clerc said at a press conference.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MAERSK SHARES TAKE A HIT AFTER RECENT RISE<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>Fourth-quarter underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $1.84 billion, just shy of analysts\u2019 forecasts of $1.88 billion.\n<\/p>\n<p>Maersk, which is often seen as a bellwether for <a href=\"https:\/\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/blog\/tag\/global-trade\/\" class=\"st_tag internal_tag \" rel=\"tag\" title=\"Posts tagged with global trade\">global trade<\/a>, projected global container-volume growth of 2% to 4% for 2026, a slowdown from 5% in 2025, citing recession risks in the global economy.\n<\/p>\n<p>It also expects underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $4.5 billion to $7 billion this year, a steep decline from $9.53 billion logged in 2025, with analysts anticipating $6.49 billion.\n<\/p>\n<p>Its shares, which have risen around 80% since April last year, were trading 5.5% lower by 1014 GMT.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>SCRAPPING SHIPS AND INCREASING CAPACITY<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>Shipping companies, including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, are weighing returns to the critical Asia-Europe Suez trade corridor after vessels were rerouted around Africa in late 2023 following attacks in the Red Sea.\n<\/p>\n<p>Maersk also announced plans to extend the operational lifespan of its container vessels from 20 to 25 years, reducing scrapping activity and adding further capacity. New vessels are expected to increase capacity by 5% this year.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany had hoped that more ships would be scrapped to offset the arrival of many new ships,\u201d said Jyske Bank analyst Haider Anjum. \u201cBut when you extend their lifespan, it points in the other direction, and it means that freight rates will come under further pressure as capacity increases so much.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>The resumption of <a href=\"https:\/\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/blog\/tag\/red-sea-shipping-routes\/\" class=\"st_tag internal_tag \" rel=\"tag\" title=\"Posts tagged with Red Sea shipping routes\">Red Sea shipping routes<\/a> is set to free 6%-7% of global <a href=\"https:\/\/neworleanscitybusiness.com\/blog\/tag\/container-shipping\/\" class=\"st_tag internal_tag \" rel=\"tag\" title=\"Posts tagged with container shipping\">container shipping<\/a> capacity this year, Clerc said. While these shorter routes reduce transit times on critical corridors such as Asia-Europe, they also exacerbate overcapacity in the market.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemand in the global economy is super strong,\u201d Clerc said, while pointing out that \u201cthe supply side shapes the current situation that we face in the shipping sector\u201d.\n<\/p>\n<p>As part of broader cost-cutting measures to navigate increased uncertainty and pressure on profitability, Maersk will reduce its share buyback programme and cut 1,000 administrative jobs.\n<\/p>\n<p><em>(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Terje Solsvik, Thomas Derpinghaus and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<p><!-- post-single CPT Filter Start --><!-- post-single CPT Filter End --><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\"> <\/a><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\"> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8230; reopening boost capacity. Global <span class=\"match\">shipping<\/span> demand remains strong despite pressure &#8230; reductions. \u00c2\u00a0 Danish <span class=\"match\">shipping<\/span> giant Maersk said on Thursday falling <span class=\"match\">freight<\/span> rates, driven &#8230; SCRAPPING SHIPS AND INCREASING CAPACITY <span class=\"match\">Shipping<\/span> companies, including Maersk and Hapag &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77490\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}