Maersk to lay off more than 10,000 employees

 

 

AP Moller-Maersk Group

 世界十大著名船公司之一 

The world's largest container shipping company

It seems that I can't bear it anymore

In view of the continued downturn in the market, Maersk Group saidAt least 10,000 employees will be laid off to reduce costs.Affected by this news,Maersk's share price plunged more than 16% to its lowest level in three years.

Maersk to cut more than 10,000 jobs

According to CCTV Finance, Maersk announced on November 3,The company's revenue in the third quarter of this year was only about half of that in the same period last year.

 

Affected by falling freight rates and cargo volumes, Maersk's third-quarter revenue was US$12.1 billion, compared with US$22.8 billion in the same period last year. Maersk maintained its full-year performance expectations, but expects it to be close to the lower end of the previous forecast range.

 

It is understood that Maersk has implemented strict cost control measures this year to effectively mitigate the impact of the challenging market environment.This includes reducing the number of employees from 110,000 at the beginning of 2023 to around 103,500 currently.

 

At the same time, Maersk said that in view of the deteriorating outlook for the shipping market, it would continue to implement these measures and announced that: on the basis of the previous layoffs of 6,500 people,The plan is to further reduce the number of employees by 3,500.Of these, 2,500 employees will be affected by the end of the year, with the rest extending until 2024.

 

 

The measure will reduce the overall headcount of Maersk to less than 100,000. As a result, Maersk now expects total restructuring costs to be $350 million, higher than the $150 million announced in February.

 

Maersk said that the personnel adjustment is a supplement to the full-year cost control.The cumulative effect could reduce Maersk's sales, general and administrative expenses by $600 million by 2024.

 

Ken Hoxter, Bank of America analyst：The freight industry will fall into a long period of recession. Inflation and high interest rates are affecting consumers, resulting in less strong demand for freight volume.

 

According to the survey, executives believe that freight volume will still be pessimistic in the first half of next year, but the survey shows that everyone generally expects that the US freight industry may see a turnaround in the second half of next year. Among them, 50% believe that freight volume will increase by 5%, 33% believe that freight volume will increase by 10%, and 17% believe that freight volume will increase by 15%.

 

Currently, the global shipping market is facing a serious imbalance in supply and demand. The global economy is still affected by high inflation, high interest rates, and geopolitical conflicts. In addition, the destocking process is slow, and the shipping market will still face great challenges.

 

 

 

RMB exchange rate against the US dollar rebounded moderately

 

Since November, the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar has rebounded moderately. Wind data shows that as of 17:00 on November 6,Since November, the offshore RMB exchange rate against the US dollar has risen by 0.91%, and the onshore RMB exchange rate against the US dollar has risen by 0.57%. Both have now regained the 7.3 mark.

 

As for the reasons for the recent rebound in the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar, Wang Youxin, a senior researcher at the China Banking Research Institute, believes that it is mainly affected by multiple factors such as policy, fundamentals and transactions.

 

The Central Financial Work Conference held recently made comprehensive arrangements to strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over financial work, comprehensively strengthen financial supervision, improve the financial system, optimize financial services, prevent and resolve financial risks, and promote high-quality financial development. It also proposed to "strengthen foreign exchange market management and maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level."

 

Wang Youxin said that from a policy perspective, this meeting has significantly boosted market sentiment and stabilized the exchange rate trend. From the perspective of economic fundamentals, with the gradual release of favorable policies, my country's consumption and investment data have improved significantly, the decline in exports has narrowed, and the endogenous driving force of the economy has been strengthened.

 

 

 

Panama Canal drought worsens

 

Recently, according to reports from the New York Times, BBC and other media, due to factors such as global warming,The Panama Canal, one of the lifelines of global shipping, has recently experienced its worst drought in more than 70 years.

 

 

On the 30th, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said: "Based on the rainfall forecast for the coming weeks, as of today, a 38% decrease in rainfall is expected for the rest of the year.

 

It is reported that the Panama Canal Authority has decided to start from November 3rd.The number of ships passing through the Panama Canal will be reduced from the current 31 to 25 per day, a number that will be further reduced to 18 within the next three months.The Panama Canal previously allowed 38-40 ships to pass through it each day. If the number is eventually reduced to 18 ships,This means that the overall capacity of the Panama Canal will be reduced by half.

 

In addition to reducing the number of ships passing through, the canal authorities also lowered the maximum draft limit for ships passing through.

 

Specifically, ACP said that starting in November, it will limit the draft of neo-Panamax locks to 44 feet. The draft limit for old Panamax locks will remain at a maximum of 39.5 feet.

 

In addition, the ACP also stated that the above-mentioned travel restrictions were made based on a 90-day reliable weather forecast. November heralds the arrival of Panama's dry season, which makes the drought worse.

 

The lower ship traffic this year than in previous years has also led to serious traffic congestion in the Panama Canal.

 

At the same time, data from the Panama Canal Authority also showed that in October this year, the average waiting times for northbound and southbound shipments were 5.29 days and 5.58 days respectively.

 

Although it is lower than the 9.52 days and 8.66 days for northbound and southbound in August, it is still at a historically high level.

 

Shipping industry analysts said thatLong queues at both ends of artificial waterways often lead to higher freight costs.Ship operators may charge higher fees or use longer routes.

 

As a reminder, existing restrictions at the Panama Canal already create the risk of congestion and lengthy delays.At the same time, it will further increase transportation costs and push up freight rates. It is recommended that you promptly communicate with customers and make good plans to avoid shipment delays, etc.! Forward to everyone~

 

 

 

 

The General Administration of Customs released foreign trade data for the first 10 months

 

 

On November 7, the General Administration of Customs released foreign trade data for the first 10 months of this year. After experiencing four consecutive months of negative growth, my country's monthly import and export growth rate finally turned from negative to positive.

 

According to the General Administration of Customs, in the first 10 months of this year, my country's total import and export value was 34.32 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.03%. Among them, exports were 19.55 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.4%. In October, my country's import and export volume reached 3.54 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.9%. Among them, exports were 1.97 trillion yuan, a decrease of 3.1%, and the year-on-year decline slightly expanded.

 

By country,In October alone, my country's export growth to the United States and ASEAN further expanded compared with September.In the first 10 months of this year, my country's total imports and exports with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative amounted to 15.96 trillion yuan, up 3.2%. Among them, exports amounted to 8.78 trillion yuan, up 7.7%; imports amounted to 7.18 trillion yuan, down 1.8%.

 

Among the specific export products, the total export value of mechanical and electrical products in the first 10 months reached 11.43 trillion yuan, up 2.8% year-on-year, accounting for 58.5% of the total export value. Among them, automobiles are still the fastest growing category of mechanical and electrical products, with a total export value of 582.43 billion yuan as of October this year, an increase of 88.5%.

 

Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Orient Securities, believes thatThe main reason why exports in October fell short of expectations was that the global and European and American manufacturing PMI indices both declined that month, and external demand was generally weak.

 

 

 

Global economic and trade friction index remains high in August

 

On October 31, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade released the Global Economic and Trade Friction Index for August. The index was 247, still at a high level, up 59 points from the same period last year and up 137 points from the previous month.

 

According to the country index,Russia, India and Türkiye ranked top three in the economic and trade friction index among the 20 countries (regions), and the United States, the European Union and Japan ranked top three in the amount involved in their economic and trade friction measures.

 

Judging from the industry index, the electronics, chemical, transportation equipment, steel, mechanical equipment, agriculture, light industry, medicine and non-ferrous metal industries are all at high levels, becoming the main points of conflict in economic and trade friction measures. Among the 13 major industries monitored, the electronics industry ranks first in the economic and trade friction index.

 

 

 

South Korea-UK FTA zero-tariff clause extended for 2 years

 

The British government said that South Korea and the United Kingdom have decided to extend the temporary clause in the South Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that allows EU raw materials to be recognized as British raw materials for two years to 2025.

 

After Brexit, the Korea-UK FTA came into effect in early 2021, and the two sides agreed that zero tariffs would also apply to British products produced with EU raw materials within three years. If the relevant terms are not extended this time, high tariffs will be applied to British products such as automobiles, food, and beverages manufactured with EU raw materials and exported from the UK to South Korea in January next year.

 

The trade volume between South Korea and the UK is about 18 billion pounds a year. South Korea is the seventh largest export market for British-made cars, and South Korean-made cars also occupy the third place in the British import car market. In addition, the two countries will start negotiations on the revision of the bilateral FTA at the end of this year.

 

 

Source: Focus, foreign shipping, customs release, network, etc.

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