The two-year global supply crisis is beginning to worsen again this month after easing due to the waning of the pandemic, as war in Ukraine and CCP virus lockdowns raise shipping costs and slow growth, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on March 28. “The sea carries more than 80 percent of the world’s…

Shipping companies have registered a record $150 billion in profits with prices rising nearly 10 times while small business owners claim that the major container lines are exploiting their monopolistic positions to charge exorbitant fares. In 2021, the spot rate for a 40-foot container from Asia to the United States was priced at over $20,000…

Shipping companies have registered a record $150 billion in profits with prices rising nearly 10 times while small business owners claim that the major container lines are exploiting their monopolistic positions to charge exorbitant fares. In 2021, the spot rate for a 40-foot container from Asia to the United States was priced at over $20,000…

A U.N. agency has warned that a surge in container shipping rates threatens the global economic recovery and could add an additional 1.5 percent to consumer price inflation through 2023. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a Nov. 18 analysis (pdf) that, since the second half of 2020, higher-than-expected demand…