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"Many customers tried to get their goods through to the U.S.
ahead of time in second half 2018, creating additional growth,"
Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of the company that is the
world's fifth biggest shipping liner, told reporters in Hamburg
on Tuesday.
"That points to some business having been brought forward," he
added.
However, with European activities being relatively stable, a
direct crisis was not on the horizon, and only later this year
would it be clear whether there would be sustained damage to
business, he said.
Shipping is only slowly recovering from an oversupply of vessels
that plunged the sector into an almost decade-long slump,
forcing some players out of business and others to combine
forces to seek economies of scale.
Elsewhere, freight rates were stable for the time being and
further direction for the remainder of the year would emerge in
the period from now up to the middle of May, Habben Jansen said.
On vessel supply, he said order books were low, representing 10
percent of the global fleet, with some scrapping activity being
noticeable.
Preliminary results for 2018, due on Feb. 25, were likely to
reflect growth in transport volumes above the market average and
results should be "satisfactory", Habben Jansen said.
The company in November said a later peak season in 2018 was
likely to lift full year earnings.
It targets earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in a corridor
of 200-450 million euros ($226.4-509.4 million).
Hapag Lloyd is introducing a surcharge mechanism this year to
account for cleaner fuel rules starting in 2020 under the watch
of the International Maritime Organisation.
It was important to have "the right bunker clauses in all
contracts", Habben Jansen said.
(Reporting by Jan Schwartz, writing by Vera Eckert, editing by
Kirsten Donovan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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