The dispute, filed in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles, centres on a 2022 agreement for the rollout of 300 battery-electric heavy trucks, 150 charging stations and associated digital infrastructure across Maersk’s U.S. landside logistics network.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Einride claims that Maersk abruptly withdrew from the partnership in late 2024 after failing to meet its own internal sales targets for electric-capacity transport. The newspaper reports that Einride’s complaint alleges Maersk sought substantial price reductions and ultimately walked away from the deal when these demands were not met.
The contract had been publicised as one of the most ambitious electric-truck deployments in North America, forming part of Maersk’s strategy to decarbonise its global logistics operations.
Maersk, however, disputes the allegations. As WSJ explains, the company argues that the termination was justified because Einride failed to deliver the agreed vehicles and did not pay key suppliers involved in the rollout. The company is said to claim that Einride’s performance issues placed the project at risk, prompting Maersk to end the agreement in line with contractual provisions.
Industry outlet TrasportoEuropa notes that the case has already seen several early procedural decisions. In January 2025, the court granted Einride’s request to file parts of the complaint under seal, citing the sensitive commercial and pricing information contained in the contract. This means large sections of the agreement and the financial claims are not publicly accessible.
The partnership had originally been announced in 2022, with Einride stating that the deployment would support more than one million shipments over the initial five-year period, using its electric trucks, charging network and freight-management software. The initiative was intended to accelerate Maersk’s shift toward zero-emission road transport in several key U.S. regions.
The case now moves forward through the pre-trial phase, although no trial date has yet been set and neither party has publicly indicated a willingness to settle.
