One of the world's biggest container-shipping firms. Its chief executive, Vincent Clerc, is adamant that Maersk will not pay any port fees imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese-built vessels, even though over a quarter of its ships are Chinese-made. The company would instead switch to non-Chinese vessels on American routes.
The global container-shipping industry made operating profits of just $6.5bn in 2019. In 2021-22 profits surged to a combined $520bn as covid-19 kept people at home while they went on a buying spree. Profits tumbled in 2023 but recovered to $78bn in 2024—the industry's third-most profitable year—after Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lengthened voyages and soaked up new vessels entering service. American imports account for about 15% of global container trade, two-fifths of which comes from China.
The industry faces a coming overcapacity crunch. The order book for new vessels stands at around 30% of the current fleet's capacity, while global demand for shipping is expected to grow by just 2% annually in 2025-27. If the Red Sea reopens, fleet capacity could grow by 7.5% a year, sending rates tumbling.
In April 2025 Maersk's subsidiary APM Terminals bought the railway running between the two ports at either end of the Panama Canal. On January 30th 2026, after Panama's Supreme Court ruled that CK Hutchison's contract to operate the canal's port terminals was unconstitutional, President Mulino said APM Terminals would run the ports during the transition until new contracts can be tendered. Maersk is in pole position to win the new tenders. China detained dozens of Panama-flagged ships in retaliation and told Maersk and MSC to cease operations at the canal.
In February 2026 APM Terminals and Eurogate, a container-handling firm, announced a plan to invest €1bn ($1.2bn) to expand a terminal in the North Sea.
Message will arrive in the mail. Destroy, before the FBI sees it.