Introduction The sight of stacks of empty shipping containers piling up at Chinese ports has become increasingly common, a stark visual representation of a growing imbalance in global trade flows. These steel boxes, the lifeblood of international commerce, are normally shuttled back and forth, carrying goods from manufacturing hubs to consumers worldwide. However, an unprecedented…
Introduction The global marketplace is a vibrant, ever-moving tapestry woven with threads of trade and commerce. Goods traverse oceans, continents, and roads daily, connecting producers with consumers in a complex and interconnected system. At the heart of this system sit the sturdy, often unseen, workhorses of global trade: shipping containers. However, a significant, often overlooked,…
Introduction The global shipping industry, the silent engine of our interconnected world, has been anything but silent in recent years. Spot rates for shipping containers from China to the United States, for instance, have skyrocketed, injecting volatility into supply chains and causing significant headaches for businesses of all sizes. This surge in prices, coupled with…
