Taking the Long View on Global Container Shipping Next Year

The ongoing expansion of tariffed goods by the Trump Administration is putting the container shipping industry in its “crossfire,” says one prominent international supply chain and logistics expert.

According to BIMCO's chief shipping analyst Peter Sand, container shipping companies have another worry on their hands…pending trade conflicts.

Copenhagen-based BIMCO is the world's largest shipowners association, comprising a membership which controls around 65 percent of international tonnage. It has members in more than 120 countries, including managers, brokers and agents.

“This trade war is constantly developing, in size as well as shape, with nothing looking like an end game yet,” Sand notes in recent BIMCO blog post.

He adds that ocean cargo shippers are likely to see China using new methods of retaliation targeting service sectors and sources of U.S. investment.

“The next steps from the U.S. are set to morph too,” he says. “The impact on the global shipping industry will depend on the measures taken.”

In a subsequent interview with Supply Chain Management Review, Sand says that shipper apprehension led to an early Peak season, with retailers and manufacturers frantically booking freight to avoid further penalties.

“This was particularly evident on the transpacfic trade lanes, but we see a steep fall-off in demand there, too, by November through early 2019. As a consequence, carriers will drop freight rates dramatically to avoid outright losses.”

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