“The new CEO will take on the task of [determining]the possible new structure,” Rasmussen added. “This may include abolishing the group” as an umbrella holding company.
The Maersk shakeup is seen as a way to potentially alleviate the company’s floundering shipping business. The overall shipping industry is facing one of its longest-ever downturns due to excess capacity in the water and diminished global demand, which have dragged freight rates to levels barely parring fuel costs for the past year.
Related: Can The Shipping ETF Stay Afloat?
Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service even issued a warning on the state of the shipping industry due to plummeting freight rates and excess capacity that would eat away at profits at a faster-than-expected rate, downgrading its outlook for the industry to negative from stable.
For more information on the shipping industry, visit our shipping category.
Guggenheim Global Shipping ETF