JOY ORLEK, ALAN PEAT
MAERSK LINE is set for a major
restructuring exercise in its bid to beef
up the bottom line.
According to a company release,
its various business interests are to be
split into independent units.
Business units, including Maersk
Logistics, trucking and warehousing,
will be separated from the container
unit’s shipping line and turned into
standalone divisions, said CE Eivind
Kolding.
But it’s early days yet, according
to David Williams, Maersk Line MD in
SA, “and certain points have yet to be
clarified.” It is possible that another
announcement on the SA separation
could be made in January.
A lot of the group’s other
businesses in South Africa, like
warehousing and container road
transport, are already running as
separate units, he added.
“The most noticeable change will
be the splitting up of Maersk Line
and Maersk Logistics – which have
previously worked very much in
tandem,” said Williams.
“It will allow us as Maersk Line to
focus more closely on our individual
clients,” he added, “and react more
quickly to the needs of our customer
base.”
Along with the rest of the industry,
bunker costs and port congestion have
posed major problems for the line over
the past 12 months.
According to a Reuters report
quoting Kolding, the line will pare
down management cutting the
management team from nine people
to seven.
And while Kolding said that there
were no immediate plans to sell off
smaller business units, he did not rule
out the possibility at a future date.
