Facing pressure from shipping, Maersk acquires air freight forwarder

Recently , Maersk released its third-quarter financial report. Driven by high freight rates, the company's shipping department's third-quarter revenue nearly doubled from $7.1 billion in the same period last year to $13.1 billion. Total revenue reached $16.61 billion, a year-on-year increase of 67.7%; profit before interest and taxes reached $5.86 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.5 times.

At the same time, Maersk announced that it is acquiring air freight forwarding company Senator International for US$644 million. However , the acquisition plan needs to be reviewed by competition regulators and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

Senator International is headquartered in Hamburg and has more than 1,700 employees in 64 offices in 21 countries in Europe, America and Asia. Its core business is air freight, which accounts for 65% of its revenue. With 19 all-cargo flights per week, the company expects revenue of $950 million this year.

In addition to the air freight forwarding acquisition, Maersk Line confirmed that it will lease three 767-300Fs from ATSG next year and purchase two 777Fs, scheduled for delivery in 2024.

Maersk aims to increase its presence in the air freight industry, "to benefit customers through expanded global routes and capacity". At the same time , it will transport a third of its annual air freight tonnage within its own controlled freighter network . "This will be achieved through a combination of owned and leased aircraft, replicating the structure the company has in its ocean fleet," the company said . "The remaining capacity will be provided by strategic commercial airlines and charter operators."

Maersk's large-scale acquisition plan is not simply a matter of money. At present, shipping congestion and delays have become almost normalized. At the end of October, due to the long delays at the Port of Seattle, Maersk, MSC, and ZIM announced that they would temporarily cancel the TP9/Eagle/ZP9 service at the Port of Seattle; and the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach also announced the adoption of regulations to collect container detention fees from shipping companies in the case of long-term port congestion.

In addition to port congestion and delays, the quarantine of cargo ships caused by the sudden outbreak is also one of the reasons for sea shipping delays. It is understood that ZIM has currently stopped accepting goods from some channels.

Under multiple pressures, reducing cargo delays and costs by expanding air transport capacity and scale may be one of the considerations behind Maersk's recent actions.

Maersk

Ocean Freight

Port congestion