Synopsis
The world’s top container line, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, this month called the challenges “the most dramatic stress test of the past 75 years.”
Shares of Maersk are flirting with an all-time high and the industry more broadly banked profits of $5.1 billion in the third quarter, a four-fold increase from a year earlier
Container shipping, the backbone of the global trading system, is showing signs of fatigue as the pandemic descends into its darkest days.
Carriers reaping the biggest profits in at least a decade are struggling to operate reliably as bottlenecks worsen around ports from southern England to Shanghai, contorting supply chains for everything from car parts to cosmetics and medical equipment.
By Brendan Murray (Bloomberg) –
Container shipping, the backbone of the global trading system, is showing signs of fatigue as the pandemic descends into its darkest days.
Carriers reaping the biggest profits in at least a decade are struggling to operate reliably as bottlenecks worsen around ports from southern England to Shanghai, contorting supply chains for everything from car parts to cosmetics and medical equipment.
Just 50.1% of container vessels arrived on time in November, down from 80% a year earlier and the lowest level in records dating back to 2011, according to a service reliability index compiled by Copenhagen-based Sea-Intelligence. From Asia to North America, on-time arrivals dropped below 30%, less than half the long-run average globally.
Bottlenecks Wear Down World Economy’s Fleet of Container Ships
Bloomberg 12/22/2020
(Bloomberg)
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Container shipping, the backbone of the global trading system, is showing signs of fatigue as the pandemic descends into its darkest days.
Carriers reaping the biggest profits in at least a decade are struggling to operate reliably as bottlenecks worsen around ports from southern England to Shanghai, contorting supply chains for everything from car parts to cosmetics and medical equipment.
Just 50.1% of container vessels arrived on time in November, down from 80% a year earlier and the lowest level in records dating back to 2011, according to a service reliability index compiled by Copenhagen-based Sea-Intelligence. From Asia to North America, on-time arrivals dropped below 30%, less than half the long-run average globally.