Shipping container giant Maersk faces a $500million (£367million) hit each month from disruption caused by the Iran war and is passing on the cost to customers.
The Danish group, which carries around 20 per cent of the world’s containers, said costs will surge in this quarter and the next, but it is offsetting this through price rises.
Chief executive Vincent Clerc said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could start affecting global trade and consumer demand.
He told Bloomberg TV: ‘There is a lot of uncertainty, if we look further into the year, with respect to what are going to be the secondary impacts – inflation, possibly a reduction in demand.’
Group profits dropped to £214million in the first three months of the year from £1billion year-on-year, while revenues slipped 2.6 per cent to £9.5billion.
Storm clouds: Shipping container giant Maersk, which carries around 20% of the world’s containers, said costs will surge in the this quarter and the next
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