By Vince Golle (Bloomberg) -- America’s network for moving goods into and around the country is the busiest in years after being throttled by the pandemic, providing vital support for an economic rebound that’s moderating in other areas. Ports are seeing a flood of container imports while railroads and trucks rush those goods -- as well as domestically produced … [Read more...]
COVID-19: Panama Canal Shipping Rebounds From Pandemic Lows
By Michael McDonald (Bloomberg) The Panama Canal is seeing signs of a rebound in global trade as ship transits recover from the depressed levels caused by the pandemic. Total transits through the waterway rose to 933 in July, from 845 in June, which was the fewest since the canal opened an expanded set of locks four years ago to accommodate bigger ships. Initial August … [Read more...]
Idle Containership Fleet Appears Set to Hit All-Time Record
File Photo: tcly / Shutterstock By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Idled containership capacity is expected to reach a record high of 3m teu within weeks, in the “worst capacity crisis the industry has ever seen”, according to new data from Alphaliner. With over 250 sailings already withdrawn in the second quarter, the consultant forecasts that the lay-ups will push the … [Read more...]
WTO: Coronavirus Trade Slump Likely to Exceed 2008 Global Financial Crisis
File Photo: Tommyphongphan / Shutterstock.com World trade is expected is expected to fall by between 13% and 32% this year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts just about every aspect of the global economy, the World Trade Organization said Wednesday. Although the unprecedented nature of the ongoing global health crisis has created uncertainty surrounding the precise … [Read more...]
Global Recession Risk Spikes as World Powers Down, Markets Slump
Photo: MAGNIFIER / Shutterstock By Enda Curran and Michelle Jamrisko (Bloomberg) -- A pandemic-driven global recession is becoming more likely by the day as the flow of goods, services and people face ever-increasing restrictions and financial markets slump.In just the past day or so, President Donald Trump curbed travel to the U.S. from Europe, Italy’s government ordered … [Read more...]