Maersk CEO Soren Skou declared that congestion outside ports such as Los Angeles and Long Beach are getting worse as retailers and manufacturers struggle to keep up with surging demand after the Covid crisis.

"The ports are not working as well as they should do, so we can't discharge containers as fast as we would like. It's hard to see exactly when the situation will improve. Our customers are dealing with super high customer demand, and on top of that they have very low inventory," said Mr Skou.

Maersk almost quintupled its operating profits to US$5.9 billion in the third quarter, more than it has made in any year since 2014.

"What we really need in Long Beach is more longshoremen and most importantly more truckers," said Mr Skou.

Maersk is spending over $1 billion to expand its small air freight offering, buying Senator International and adding five new aircraft for itself in purchases and leasing in the next three years.

Mr Skou added that Maersk would look to build up its contract logistics business outside of the US as it seeks further acquisitions.