Global shipping industry stays on an even keel despite waves of uncertainty from US-China trade war
US-China trade war leaves little wake so far for maritime haulers of the world’s goods.
The US-China trade war has yet to make big waves for the world’s shippers that transport everything from soybeans to industrial machinery between the two nations.
The Baltic Dry Index that measures shipping rates for vessels that carry bulk commodities, such as grain and coal, has been riding high – up nearly 80 per cent since April, when trade tensions were building, ending in the first US tariffs going into effect on July 6. In fact, the index hit a 52-week high this month, as a second round of tariffs hit.
In addition, executives of several shipping giants reporting earnings in the past two weeks have declared that, while they are cautious about the growing trade war, they so far have not needed to batten down the hatches.
However, concern that shipping operators could be thrown off keel could grow as US President Donald Trump plans to move forward with tariffs on another US$200 billion of Chinese goods as early as next week, as reported by Bloomberg on Thursday. And Trump recently said he has “no time frame” for ending the dispute.
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign against what he sees as unfair global trade policies has spilled over to other countries, prompting retaliatory tariffs by the European Union on American whiskey and Harley-Davidson motorcycles as the US has placed new levies on foreign-made steel and aluminium and threatened tariffs on automobiles made by overseas car makers.
