Stay Up to Date on the Cargo Shipping Industry
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on shipping industry growth in 2020. With the world in lockdown, demand for non-essential consumer goods (and the means to ship them) decreased. Shipment of manufactured goods also decreased as factories closed in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. On top of that, China — one of the world’s largest exporters — was at the center of the pandemic, leading several countries to stop trade with the nation altogether.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), maritime shipping industry growth will likely slow or remain flat in 2023, driven by inflation and the ongoing war in Ukraine. For the overall 2023–2027 period, UNCTAD predicts growth at an annual average rate of 2.1%, slower than the previous 30-year average of 3.3%.
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The price of crude oil is now lower than it was when OPEC announced its latest cuts, fueling more concern on tanker demand.
Bed Bath & Beyond got pummeled by the supply chain crisis. The company is now targeting shipping lines for allegedly compounding its woes.
The Europe-U.S. trade held up a lot longer than the Asia-U.S. trade, but trans-Atlantic premiums are now fading away.
Tanker investors have been disappointed before. Is the current stock pullback a bump in the road or something more?
As new container ships flood the market amid weak demand, Drewry expects low freight rates to persist through 2024.
There is growing sentiment that higher trans-Pacific spot rates will not hold and prospects for shipping lines remain weak.
Mainstream tankers have moved into the Russian crude export trade. The price cap might push them back out again.
“We are starting to see ocean carriers systematically take geopolitical risk into consideration,” says Xeneta’s Erik Devetak.
Jefferies’ Omar Nokta believes container shipping investors are starting to look toward “the end of the destock and beginning of the restock.”
Small-package shippers should consider stepping outside the norm to modernize their logistics strategy by evaluating alternative carriers.
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