According to Nils Smedegard Anderson, CEO of A.P. Moeller-Maersk, one of the worlds foremost shipping lines, global growth is slowing down and it is reducing at a rate significantly lower than growth forecasts provided by forecasters.
Maersk’s container line on Friday reported a 61% dip in her third quarter profits on the back of a drop in demand for ships transportation of goods.
Majority of the hardest hit companies were the commodity traders. ConocoPhillips reported its widest loss since 2008, losing $1.07 billion or 87 cents a share in the third quarter, while Royal Dutch Shell Plc. reported a net loss of $7.42 billion in quarter three of 2015.
In Nigeria, an emerging economy largely dependent on oil revenues, a majority of its public companies recorded losses or did not meet estimates for quarter three 2015. Oando Plc, a major downstream player in her oil industry reported a historic loss of N184 billion in 2014.
The International Monetary Fund reduced its 2015 GDP forecast from 3.3% to 3.1%. The reason given was that a slowdown in emerging markets driven by weak commodity prices has slowed down the world economy. They also cut their 2016 world GDP forecast from 3.8% to 3.6%.
Trade from Asian countries to Europe has also slowed as a weaker Euro makes it harder for exporters to remain in business.
According to Andersen, there are no signs that the global economy is heading for a slump similar to that recorded after the 2008 financial crisis. However, what we are seeing are distortions caused by the redistribution taking place between commodity exporting countries and commodity importing countries.
Global Economy Worse Than Forecasted
