Zhitong Financial APP learned that the world's largest container shipping company$A.P. Moller-Maersk (AMKBY.US) $Global container demand growth is expected to slow in 2022 due to deteriorating consumer confidence and reduced port congestion in the second quarter, it said on Wednesday.

Maersk, which is seen as a barometer of global trade, has about 17 per cent of the market and said the number of containers loaded on board fell 7.4 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier. "Shipping volumes have softened as continued traffic jams and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have depressed consumer confidence, especially in Europe," Soren Skou, the company's chief executive, said in a statement. The company cut its forecast for global container demand growth to the lower end of the range of-1% to 1%.

"in Europe, retailers and manufacturers store containers containing goods in ports and warehouses because of weak end demand, which continues to clog the supply chain," said Mr Maersk. " This is similar to the situation in the United States. The largest warehouse market in the US has been filled; major retailers have warned that sales of clothing, electronics, furniture and other goods are slowing.

On the supply side, Maersk said delivery times were still long and "it is still uncertain when capacity restrictions, including land transport and warehousing bottlenecks, will weaken."

In addition, Maersk added that while overall freight rates remained high in the second quarter because of supply chain congestion, short-term and spot freight rates had fallen compared with the first quarter of this year.