Maersk's sea-freight business faces the threat of new price war

Copenhagen

A.P. Moller-Maersk has been fortified by the US$7.5 billion sale of its oil and gas business to France's Total, but the company's main sea-freight business faces the threat of a new price war in a consolidating industry.

Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping company, has shifted its focus this year from preserving market share to higher margins, a strategy that was helped by a recovery in freight rates.

Chief executive Soren Skou told Reuters that the company's second-quarter results last week "were driven by higher freight rates …