Maersk, a Danish company specializing in sea freight and port terminal services, predicts that the volume of global container traffic may decrease by 2.5% in 2023 compared to the previous year due to “restrained” economic growth.

Maersk handles about one-sixth of all containers in the world and believes that demand for container transportation in 2023 will range from -2.5% to +0.5%.

The company’s profit before interest and taxes in 2023 is expected to be between $2 to $5 billion, much lower than the $30.9 billion in 2022 and $19.7 billion in 2021.

According to logistics experts, the economic slowdown and high levels of debt in vulnerable markets, including China, are contributing factors to the expected decline in global container traffic.