Message : Required fields COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark's Maersk said on Wednesday it expected its "exceptionally strong" performance in the first quarter to continue for the rest of the year, driven by high demand for shipping containers from China to the United States. Maersk, which handles about one in five containers shipped worldwide, said there were not enough ships available in the world to meet a surge in consumer demand, resulting in record-high freight rates. The firm's shares traded 4% higher at 0921 GMT, near a record high reached last week. "The situation today is that our customers are trying to meet a very, very high underlying demand, while at the same time rebuilding stock," Chief Executive Soren Skou told a media call.