APM CFO: Industry must adjust to “new normal”

APM CFO: Industry must adjust to “new normal”

APM CFO: Industry must adjust to “new normal”

   The global trade industry must adjust to a 'new normal' in global container traffic growth expectations, APM Terminals Chief Financial Officer Moller Laursen said this week.
   Speaking at the Port Finance International conference in London, Laursen said terminals and their shipping line customers must work together to succeed in a suppressed volume environment and the lower revenue that brings.
   APM Terminals has seen its volume decline 9 percent this year — better than the global average of 15 percent — and that has had an impact on which projects the company can undertake in the future. The company has, however, remained profitable this year.
   As the terminal-operating subsidiary of shipping giant A.P. Moller – Maersk, APM is keenly aware of the impact the past year has had on shipping lines.
   'Our customers are bleeding, with no solution in sight,' he said. 'Despite the slower growth in the coming period, the port industry remains fundamentally attractive. The world will continue to grow in the longer run, and globalization and the containerization of goods will continue, particularly in emerging markets.”