Shipping major 'cautiously optimistic'

Maersk Line’s North Asia CEO Tim Smith has offered a cautiously optimistic outlook for the year ahead, citing overcapacity as the biggest challenge facing shipping lines. In an interview with Bloomberg he said he was hopeful that the good strong shipments seen in December would continue into the new year. Describing 2012 as a volatile year, he said there had been improvements during the year with a current pick-up in the Asia- Europe trade. He said last year overcapacity was managed fairly well by taking out ships, scrapping them, slowing ships down or idling them for shorter or longer periods, helping to balance supply and demand. “That is the game we need to play again in 2013,” he said. CAPTION Balancing supply and demand – the focus for 2013.