Global Chaos Hasn’t Stopped Shipping. Executives Are Marveling At The Industry’s Resilience.

CEOs from two of the world's largest shipping companies said that the industry has shown resilience in the face of challenges, particularly the Iran war.

Vincent Clerc, chief executive officer of Denmark's Maersk, and Rolf Habben Jansen, head of Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, each told CNBC that shipping was holding steady despite global turmoil.

Clerc said that the industry had shown "incredible resilience" and that "volumes to continue completely unabated."

The executives pointed to two policies of President Trump that have created challenges for the industry: tariffs and war. Trump has continued to pursue avenues for tariffs on foreign goods even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that many of his original tariffs were illegal and unconstitutional. That ruling resulted in the U.S. having to issue billions in refunds to companies that were illegally taxed on imported goods.

Rather than stop, Trump has sought to use other legal justifications for new tariffs.

In February of this year, President Trump launched the Iran war, claiming that it would last just a few weeks. Instead, the war has dragged on for months, embroiled much of the Middle East, and constrained shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil supply once traveled.

Despite these challenges, Clerc and Jansen told CNBC the supply chain could say issues with landside infrastructure were causing delays and could help spur higher costs. Specifically, they pointed to port facilities, roads, and rail links. For example, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed more cargo onto roads and land-based infrastructure that might have trouble keeping up with the increased pressure.

"What we're seeing now is, as a result of underinvestment in landside infrastructure for the last 15 years and continued growth in traded volumes, we're starting to hit or stretch the limitations of what landside can actually cope with," Clerc said.

Jansen told CNBC that shipping volumes were "remarkably strong" despite the global conflicts. "The balance of supply and demand is much more reasonable than people anticipated," Jansen said.