The accumulated growth rate for US inbound containers has almost been cut in off half from 5.1% in 2018 to 2.6% in August of 2019.
Towards the end of 2018, US retailers frontloaded consumer goods ahead of the planned tariff hike in January 2019. While another US tariff hike of 10% on Chinese goods worth USD 160 billion is planned for 15 December, BIMCO does not expect the same frontloading to occur this time around, due to heightened uncertainty about the rumoured trade deal.
According to communication by the US government, a US-China trade deal has been agreed upon in principle, but whether this deal will see the light of day in 2019 is very uncertain.
No matter the outcome, the trade war has already harmed the shipping industry.
Container shipping has not only felt the impact of the trade war but also the synchronized slowdown of the World’s economies.
Source: BIMCO
