This is an interesting observation from financial reporter Ambrose Evans-Pritchard concerning world economic trends that gives yet another indication why you need to get serious about your financial future!
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/ambrose_evans-pritchard/blog/2008/07/04/is_global_shipping_slowing_drastically
Is global shipping slowing drastically?
Friday, July 4, 2008, 06:36 PM GMT [General]
A little nugget from my colleagues at Le Figaro, one of Europe's finest newspapers (which is luxuriously delivered to my desk every day). Jacques Saadé, the head of the French shipping giant CMA CMG, says the shipping cycle has turned with a vengeance.
"We're seeing ships leaving Asia that are not full. We are living through a real economic slowdown. It is a latent crisis that will take time to disappear. I don't see it getting better before the end of 2009."
"America is importing less, so is Europe. After a record year in 2007, where we had more offers than we could take on our ships, traffic between Asia and Europe has now fallen to a 94pc occpancy rate," he said.
Mr Saadé, who has just ruled out a bid for Hapag-Lloyd, said the oil spike was a scam. "This boom is artificial. Only speculation can explain the run up in price. One way or another, governments must put a stop to this."
He said fuel now made up 60pc of his shipping costs. "We're cutting the average speed of our container ships from 22 to 19 knots. It's our only possibility," he said. Lloyds List said the shipping industry will know when the first Asian loads begin for the pre-Christmas season in a month as whether this is the start of a serious slump. The anecdotal talk is that the picture is deteriorating fast. Note too that the Baltic Dry Index measuring freight rates for coal, corn, grains and such has dropped 23pc over the last month.
A false alarm?
Poverty is no fun! Make Money Online using Google, Veretekk, Blastomatic, Leadsomatic and Free FFAS! Obtain Fantastic Dental and Health Benefits at http://dentalbenefitsarewonderful.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment