Shipping stats reveal economic downturn

 Daily Caller:

Ocean logistics companies are canceling orders amid declines in worldwide consumer demand, according to a Monday report from CNBC.

As the world’s leading economies battle inflation, supply chain crises, and geopolitical tensions from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, logistics managers told CNBC that they are seeing 20% declines in ocean freight orders — a reality arising from uncertain consumer demand outlooks and the accumulation of existing inventory.

“Inventory levels are high as consumerism shifts further to off-price,” United National Consumer Suppliers CEO Brett Rose told the outlet. “Bigger brands are very conscious of current season and trends. A Bloomingdale’s consumer doesn’t want last season’s shoes or handbags. These items will be attractive to consumers of retailers like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Ross Stores.”

Falling demand has impacted multiple industries, from machinery and industrials to housing and clothing, according to CNBC. Demand for some goods, such as retail displays and ultrasound machines, remains strong. The growth of the global economy is expected to decline from 5.7% last year to 2.9% in 2022, according to June forecasts from the World Bank, which marked a downgrade from predictions made in January.

“The war in Ukraine, lockdowns in China, supply-chain disruptions, and the risk of stagflation are hammering growth. For many countries, recession will be hard to avoid,” World Bank President David Malpass explained. “Markets look forward, so it is urgent to encourage production and avoid trade restrictions.”

Companies are canceling voyages to match lower customer demand with vessel space. HSL Logistics said in a note to clients that it cut vessels by nearly 50%, while other companies, such as DHL Ocean Freight, told CNBC that demand is expected to remain flat through October.
...

I suspect that inflation has led consumers to cut back on expenditures to cover the basics like food and fuel.  Those are two of the items that have seen significant cost increases.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Washington Post: Some Democrats eye adding more justices to the Supreme Court to change its ideological bent The once-remote idea has gained the attention of liberals angered by the GOP push to remake the federal courts. Probably the easy way to defeat this court-packing scheme is for Trump to propose doing the same thing now.  It would lead to Democrat denunciations and claims that it would be wrong, thereby blowing up any attempt by them in the unfortunate event of Democrats winning a presidential election.
Read more

29 % of companies say they are unlikely to keep insurance after Obamacare

Conn Carroll: A new survey of 368 midsize to large companies found that 29% of them are considering terminating their active employee health care plans when Obamacare is full implemented in 2014. Only 71% of employers surveyed said they did not expect to drop their health coverage, while 20% said they did not know and 9% said they were planning to exit. The latest survey, conducted by Towers Watson, echoes an ealier survey by McKinsey & Co. finding that 30% of private-sector employers were planning to drop their employee health insurance coverage by 2014. When the Congressional Budget Office crunched Obamacare's spending numbers, they estimated that only 7% of employees currently covered by employer-sponsored plans would lose their plans. ... This means the cost of the health care fiasco will be hundreds of billions more than estimated by the CBO and Congressional Democrat. It is also clear that Obama's pledge that you could keep your health care plan if you wanted t
Read more