Lars Jensen, one of the best known pundits in container shipping, is the latest big name to take the hot seat in the Maritime CEO Leader Series.
Speaking from Copenhagen, Jensen, the CEO of SeaIntelligence Consulting and a columnist for sister title Maritime CEO, gives his thoughts in today’s episode of the shipping TV series powered by Ocean Technologies Group.
The container shipping sector will get hit “disproportionally” hard compared to other cargo sectors, Jensen warns, while adding that the rebound, which he is predicting in 2021 will also be “disproportionally” sharp.
Jensen is predicting that carriers will suffer a combined 10% volume drop this year, but he praised liners’ collective resolve thus far in holding the line on freight rates.
In terms of how coronavirus might change liner shipping – something recently discussed by the head of CMA CGM, Rodolphe Saade – Jensen argued that existing trends such as digitalisation would be accelerated by the pandemic. Manufacturing would continue to be more dispersed, Jensen said, while demand centres will continue to spread beyond the main east-west tradelanes. Peak outsourcing for container shipping was actually reached 10 years ago, Jensen observed.
For more unrivalled coverage on how liner shipping is coping with the coronavirus pandemic, check out Splash’s dedicated container coverage here.
Lasse Kristoffersen from Torvald Klaveness is up next in the Maritime CEO Leader Series powered by Ocean Technologies Group. Stay tuned for his take on shipping and digital when the episode airs on Thursday.
