Maersk expects slowing box demand

Maersk Line, the world’s largest container vessel operator, said the global shipping industry may have to cut box cargo capacity from the fourth quarter as demand growth slows at U.S. and European retailers. “Demand for shipments in the fourth quarter might be a bit softer, and certainly after Chinese New Year it’ll be quiet again,” Tim Smith, chief executive officer for the Copenhagen-based shipping line’s North Asia region, said in an interview in Hong Kong yesterday.