Container equipment rental rates came under renewed pressure in 2014 and by mid-2015 new dry freight pricing was at a ten-year low, whilst lease rates had fallen to an all-time low, according to the latest edition of the Container Leasing report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
The MAPI Foundation's manufacturing production index for Latin America is expected to decline 0.9 percent in 2015, although this regional picture masks sizable differences across countries. The deeper than expected recession in Brazil, for instance, is offsetting the solid performance of Mexican factories. Argentina's manufacturers are also in recession, but it is milder than Brazil's.
A draft agreement, reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany - which would see the former reduce its nuclear activities in return for the gradual ending of economic sanctions, would have a positive impact on the future of the Iranian automotive industry.
A combination of the erratic global air and sea freight market, a growing shift in geographic focus towards the regional and the application of advanced technology and data analysis to the market is bringing the fate of the traditional freight forwarding model into question.
Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, many of the old Communist-era restrictions for setting up business have been removed. For some logistics companies, the largest barriers to entry come not from Chinese red tape but from other Western competition.
Over the past few decades, the rise of emerging markets - initially as sources of cheap labor and then as rapidly growing consumer markets and centers of capital investment and innovation - has caused most companies of size and stature to enlarge their global ambitions. But despite this concerted push to globalize, few companies are ready to build and run truly global organizations and operations.
Shipowners operating in the trans-Atlantic dry bulk market, where prices have been plumbing two-year lows on the back of acute vessel oversupply and shifting patterns in minerals demand, could be facing brighter days, according to the latest special report released by Platts.
Foreign direct investment has never been more important in catalyzing growth, whether in the developed or developing world. Although equity markets around the world have largely recovered since the financial crisis, global capital flows have contracted sharply. The Milken Institute's Global Opportunity Index provides policy makers and investors vital information on policies that can best attract foreign direct investment, expand economies and accelerate job creation. The index is also a guide for countries seeking to improve their business environments and attract investors who commit long-term capital, rather than move it around as a fleeting portfolio tactic.
Shipping will require an additional 42,500 officers by the end of 2019 to cope with the expected growth in the main cargo carrying fleet, equivalent to 7 percent growth over the five-year period. But the persistent shortage of officer crew is receding, according to the latest Manning report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.