Demand Rising to Keep Stuff Cool on Ocean Voyages

Søren Skou, CEO of container shipping giant Maersk Line is keynote speaker at the 4th Cool Logistics Global conference, 24-26 September in Antwerp, Belgium.

Mr. Skou will outline Maersk’s position on the critical actions now needed to sustain the future of global refrigerated transport.

Over the past decade and more, expansion of refrigerated container ocean services has underpinned growing world trade in an ever-widening range of perishable commodities, from super deep-frozen tuna to exotic fresh fruit. The refrigerated container is now by far the dominant transport mode for the complex movement of chilled and frozen cargoes across the globe.

Volumes of global refrigerated container shipments are tipped to rise still further over the next few years on the back of world population growth, new demand from China, India, Russia, Middle East, Africa and other developing economies, and on-going conversion of reefer cargoes from other transport modes, including air.

However, the reefer trades have not been immune from the general volatility in world container shipping. This year has seen a number of prominent carriers, Maersk included, warning of the dangers of rate erosion and spiralling costs to reposition reefer containers to demand locations, among other concerns.

With little sign of significant new investment in conventional reefer tonnage, refrigerated container shipping is clearly now the linchpin for world perishables trade. Mr. Skou will offer Maersk Line’s thoughts on how to address today‘s challenges to ensure a stable refrigerated ocean transport pipeline for global perishable shippers and retailers.