It was a week when dry bulk rates went one way – up – and New York-listed bulker equities headed the other. Investor anxiety over waning US stimulus activity and Covid-19 spread overcame even the highest Baltic Dry Index (BDI) level since 2010 and capesize rates approaching $50,000 per day for the first time in a decade. That sent dry bulk equities under the coverage of investment bank Jefferies down 2% on the week, nearly mirroring the 2.2% drop for all 29 shipping stocks under the bank’s coverage.

Shipping fared worse than the S&P 500, which lost 0.6%, yet slightly better than the small-cap Russell 2000 index, which shed 2.5%. The Jefferies Shipping Index nonetheless remains up 46.5% year to date and 31.2% year over year. “For the week ahead, we expect a light week of trading as we enter the homestretch of summer vacation,” said Jefferies lead shipping analyst Randy Giveans. “That said, stocks could remain volatile in the ongoing tug-of-war between positive rates and fundamentals and negative Covid and macro-economic concerns.”

Much of the week’s hit to shipping came on 19 August, when investors reacted to minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting suggesting a bond asset-purchase program launched at the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak could begin to wind down later this year. There was also uncertainty over whether the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant could cause further lockdowns despite progress made in vaccinating much of the population. The jitters overwhelmed positive industry fundamentals, Giveans said then.

“Also, it is a lot easier and safer for a portfolio manager to sell from the beach in August than to buy. ‘Sell now and we will sort it out in September’ has probably been heard with waves in the background,” he said. Only six of the 29 Jefferies stocks registered gains for the week.

Tankers also lost 2% amid gains in crude rates and declines in clean products. One of the tanker sector’s bellwethers, Frontline, is to be among the final companies to report second-quarter earnings this week. Gas stocks fell to losses despite stability or gains in underlying rates, as LNG operators declined 4% and LPG owners 7%.

Only the mighty containership sector managed to eke out a gain on the week at 1%. Boxship owners made up half of the companies gaining ground, with Danaos leading the way at 7.5%, followed by Zim at 3.7% and Capital Product Partners at 0.3%.

A NYK Line capesize bulker has been forecast to set a new benchmark level in the second-hand market as rates for large bulkers reached their strongest levels in a decade. Offers on the Japanese-built 181,356-dwt Frontier Phoenix (built 2011) are reported to be due later this week, according to shipbrokers. “We are expecting a fresh benchmark to be set,” Galbraiths said in its weekly sale and purchase report. “There were reportedly five parties inspecting, but we would not be surprised if more turned out to offer.”

The shipbroker said amongst plenty of firm enquiry, it was seeing “a distinct tightening” in the supply of real sales candidates, which was causing “ever firming pricing”. Galbraiths said the last equivalent sale was the 181,360-dwt Bulk Denmark (built 2010) which sold last in July in the low $30m mark.

Some 71 capesize bulkers have been reported sold in the year-to-date, according to Clarksons. This compares with 77 in the whole of 2020. A new benchmark for Newcastlemax bulkers around the 15-years-of-age mark has also been set recently according to UK shipbroker Affinity (Shipping). The Richard Fulford-Smith-led broker said Greek buyers have been linked to the acquisition of the 203,137-dwt Cape United (built 2007) at $22m. “It’s interesting to note the last comparable sale is that of the 206,296-dwt Grand Venture (built 2005) which was sold at mid-high $16m back in April of this year,” the shipbroker said.

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) surpassed the 4,000 mark for the first time since 2010, hitting 4,147 on Monday, according to Braemar ACM Shipbroking. “The index has increased by 202% year-to-date, fueled by soaring commodity demand, as well as Covid-19 related supply chain disruption,” it said. The capesize 5TC benchmark has also reached fresh highs since it was introduced in 2014, reaching $50,708 per day on Monday, an increase of 177% year-on-year. Braemar said capesize vessels have been some of the worst affected by Covid-19 delays with the 180,000-dwt vessels calling at Chinese ports in most of their voyages.

Norwegian investment bank Fearnley Securities said on Monday that the dry bulk market continues to “fire on all cylinders across all segments” with capesize rates now finally starting to “show their earnings power. The rally comes on the back of some aggressive chartering from Vale who reportedly took more than 15 vessels on Friday alone,” Fearnleys analysts Peder Nicolai Jarlsby, Erik Gabriel Hovi and Ulrik Mannhart said.

Momentum has been building in the spot market for capesize bulkers for the past week and on Monday it finally happened: average day rates crossed the $50,000 level. Capesizes have been fixed for iron ore voyages from Brazil to China at consistently firmer rates, which has helped lift the spot market overall. Spot tonnage in Brazil is running short for September loading dates and additional vessel supply to the Atlantic depends on how quickly port congestion in China unwinds. But market sources have suggested that the bull run in freight rates could last for just a few more days, as more ships ballast to the Atlantic.

Baltic Exchange panelists assessed the weighted average spot rate across five key capesize routes $977 higher on Monday at $50,708 per day. The assessment has not been this high since June 2010, based on its old methodology, which was updated in 2014. The strength of the capesize market helped lift the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) by a further 55 points to 4,147 on Monday. The BDI, which gives an overall indication of the strength of dry cargo markets, is at its highest level in just over 11 years.

Busy chartering activity by Brazilian mining giant Vale has soaked up many of the capesizes available for loading dates in early September. On Monday, an extra 27 cents were added to Baltic’s assessment of rates on the Brazil-to-China route for iron ore, which was put at $36.40 per tonne. Offers were as high as $37 per tonne in the market on Monday for Brazil-China trips, a chartering source said. Vale fixed more than 15 ships on Thursday last week for trips from Brazil to China at between $34 to $35.15 per tonne, according to market sources. Vale’s highest fixture of the week was concluded at $36.35 per tonne.

Chartering sources told TradeWinds that Vale is currently looking to fix panamaxes and mini capesizes of around 120,000 dwt to load at its Ponta da Madeira terminal from 15 September onwards. The miner aims to fill a berth space while VLOCs are loading at Pier 3 of the terminal, rather than split capesize cargoes, TradeWinds understands. But Vale’s chartering spree means the Atlantic market is looking short on ships for loading dates in mid- to late September. Congestion at ports in China, too, is helping keep freight rates at elevated levels. Market sources said they expect congestion to remain a problem into October and into the fourth quarter.

Arrow Shipbroking estimates that VLOC or valemax tonnage arriving in Brazil during the first half of September will fall below 3m dwt each week. The broker said it expects the list of ballasting vessels to grow “significantly” towards the end of September, depending on how quickly port congestion in China unwinds. As many as 18 VLOCs could arrive in Brazil during the week commencing 20 September, compared to eight vessels per week earlier in the month, according to Arrow’s estimates. Around 17% of the total capesize fleet is currently tied up in congestion globally, the highest seasonal level since 2016 due to tighter coronavirus restrictions at Chinese ports, according to Arrow. Global capesize congestion has averaged 13.6% over the past five years, Arrow added.

But the capesize story is not all about Brazil. Iron ore volumes from Australia have bounced back too. Seaborne exports climbed to 38m tonnes during the first two weeks of August, up by 1.9m tonnes or 5% year on year. Brazilian volumes during the same two-week period were around 1m tonnes below the 2020 level. Baltic panelists assessed the Western Australia-China benchmark route 18 cents higher on Monday at $16 per tonne. South Korean steelmaker Posco reportedly booked an unnamed capesize on Friday at this level for an iron-ore trip from Western Australia to Gwangyang, loading from 3 September. The past week’s capesize chartering activity is set against a spectacular fall in prices for iron ore as China seeks to curb pollution by reducing steel production. The outlook for Chinese iron ore demand looks unclear in the face of conflicting domestic policies on infrastructural investment, steel production, pollution, and market speculation. In the meantime, capesize owners with vessels in the spot market or on index-linked contracts are earning healthy margins. Daily operating expenditure for capesizes is estimated at around $5,402, according to the Baltic Exchange’s latest estimate.

With softer indicators coming out of China, should bulker owners who have been enjoying the highest earnings in more than a decade be worried? The dry bulk market has so far managed to shrug off the news, with capesizes soaring to almost $50,000 per day, the highest level since the assessment reflected the larger 180,000 dwt size in 2014.

Port congestion and inefficiencies related to coronavirus restrictions, especially in China, may even provide more support to the market at a time when Brazilian iron ore exports are rising. The average weighted capesize time charter on the Baltic Exchange closed Friday at $49,731 per day, a gain of 26% on the week and a 40% surge since the start of the month. China’s steel consumption is expected to soften in this half of the year as the construction sector experiences tightening property policies, according to Arctic Securities of Norway. That led iron ore futures to slide to the lowest level since the start of 2021, with January 2022 at $117 per tonne.

China’s steel output dropped 7% in July to 86.8m tonnes, the biggest year-on-year decline since 2008, and an 8% slump from June, according to shipbroker Braemar ACM, citing official statistics. The figure represents the first indication that Beijing’s policies to curb carbon emissions may be having an effect, and expectations of weaker production in China have been “rippling through the ferrous markets” with benchmark iron ore prices falling 30% to $162 per tonne since April, it said. Part of the slide can be attributed to higher iron ore supply particularly from Brazil, however.

Firm steel prices in China, up 24% for the year to date for front-month rebar futures, are an indication that demand is solid, Braemar said, making it “difficult for authorities to keep a lid on growth in steel output going forward”. But industrial output of 6.4% in July year on year was 1.9 points lower than in June, marking the slowest growth rate since August last year, according to the brokerage. A similar slowdown trend was noted for retail sales and the automotive sector, as well as in investment growth, which could be due to recent outbreaks of the coronavirus hitting sentiment in the country. Shipping association BIMCO noted how iron ore imports fell 88.5m tonnes in July, 21% below the same month in 2020, and the lowest level since May last year. Imports in the first seven months of the year amounted to 649m tonnes, a drop of 1.5% from the same period a year ago. “A decline in Chinese iron ore imports following record-breaking imports in the first six months to the year seemed inevitable viewing that the Chinese government wishes to keep emissions growth in check,” said the group’s chief shipping analyst Peter Sand. “However, as demand for steel remains strong in China, it remains to be seen to which extent the Chinese government will continue to limit steel supply due to environmental concerns.”

While Brazilian exports rose 14.3% to 108.3m tonnes in the January-to-June period, the volumes are still below the record 109.2m tonnes that China imported in the same period in 2017, he said. Meanwhile, exports from Australia dropped 1.3% to 244.8m tonnes in the first six months. US-based, Commodore Research & Consultancy managing director Jeffrey Landsberg said that looking at data over the past decade, China’s iron ore imports have “stayed resilient during each year where China’s crude steel output growth came under notable pressure”. In 2012, China’s steel production grew only 3%, while iron ore imports gained 9%, according to Mr Landsberg. Similarly, in 2014, when steel output rose 5%, seaborne iron ore intake surged 13%. In 2015, when steel output contracted by 2%, iron ore imports still expanded by 2% year on year. “It is global iron ore production that dictates China’s iron ore import volume,” he said, with China content to buy in as much as overseas miners are willing to sell given the higher quality of imported material.

Weak iron imports in 2018, which fell 2%, and 2019, growing by just 1%, were led by supply issues, as steel output gained 10% and 7%, respectively.

There is little doubt that dry bulk carriers are drawing strength from the box shipping boom, effectively marking a sudden reversal of the long-term process of containerization in place since the 1960s. The chronic physical shortage of containers as well as soaring freight rates over the past year is accelerating the process of many bagged, and typically containerized, commodities finding their way into the conventional bulker market.

Cosco Shipping Logistics, the logistics arm of the state conglomerate, for example, said it had recently arranged a shipment of steel bars for its client Jiangsu TG Tools on a dry bulker. It not only helped to save the manufacturer the trouble of securing scarce slots, but also “cut the shipping costs by about 50%”, said the Cosco unit. And this is not the first time the company has done such a thing. Earlier this year, it shipped 2,000 tonnes steel coils for another customer using the same method. There are more cases. Its sister company Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers used the 27,300 dwt bulker Feng Huang Song (IMO: 9416757) to haul 2,166 tonnes of bagged walnuts and sunflower seeds from China to the Red Sea in March to avoid the container logistics turmoil.

While the extra workload and risks for changing the shipping mode have led to resistance from ship operators, many dry bulk owners have spread their wings into these commodity segments, resulting in a significant increase in bagged commodities being hauled by bulker carriers. There was a 130% increase in grains and oil seeds shipments from the US in bulk carriers over the first seven months of 2021 when compared with the same period in 2019, or pre-pandemic levels, according to Ocean Analytics citing Oceanbolt data.

Similarly, steel shipped in bulkers surged by 97% year on year during the January-July period, scrap cargoes by 110% and fertilizers by 102% when compared with the corresponding period in 2019. The assessment suggests that this shift in approach has been a contributing factor for the rise in ultramaxes and handysize rates, now hovering around $35,000 a day. Precious Shipping managing director Khalid Hashim accepted that the recent trend is assisting demand for the dry bulk market and boosting freight rates. Lloyd’s List previously reported that several other cargoes including chemicals in bags, semi-finished steel parcels, bagged rice and lumber have been spilling to bulkers.

The fact that US lawmakers and federal authorities are getting involved probably serves as good circumstantial evidence of US exporters facing reliability issues with the container sector, Ocean Analytics founder Ulf Bergman said. “For agri-commodities, a shift appears to be mostly US-centric, with the year-on-year growth of grains exports on board bulkers out of US ports being in a different league compared with the global trade during the past 14 months.” The Phase One trade deal between Washington and Beijing, in combination with strong demand for grains and oilseeds, has seen Chinese buyers purchasing record volumes from US farmers as they have depleted their stockpiles. And that momentum will likely ramp up the use of dry bulkers, even without the disruption in the container shipping sector, said Mr Bergman. But he reckoned that the urge by container carriers to rapidly reposition their empty equipment to the more lucrative fronthaul trades have played an important role in facilitating the 130% surge.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, published by Shanghai Shipping Exchange, shows that average spot rates on the China-US west coast trade, using Shanghai as a base departure port, stood at $4,433 per feu for the first seven months of 2021, up from $1,616 during the 2019 period. As for steel and scrap shipments on bulkers, in addition to soaring rates, some of the growth is likely to be attributed to other factors, Mr Bergman added. These include the global economic recovery and a change in Chinese taxation on imports of scrap metal. He expected the trend to continue if the container freight rates remain high and port congestion keeps building. “Low-value cargoes, such as basic steel products, already facing elevated production costs due to high commodity prices, could see rising container rates as prohibitive despite increasing demand and accentuate the trend.”

Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOIL) has reported its best six-month results in the company’s history and maintained a bullish outlook for the coming months. The Hong Kong-listed parent of Orient Overseas Container Line recorded a first-half profit of $2.81bn, up from just $102m for the same period of 2020. Revenue jumped to $6.99bn from $3.42bn on higher freight rates and transport volumes. “The first half of 2021 produced the best six-monthly results in the group’s history,” the China Cosco Shipping-controlled company said in an interim report.

OOIL attributed the strong performance to healthy transpacific shipment demand, a recovering global economy, and a series of supply disruptions across the globe. “During the period we have seen port congestion, bad weather delays, labour disputes, shortages of truckers, the Suez Canal incident … and a range of other difficulties,” OOIL said. “The global container shipping system is one large, interconnected network: any material disruption rarely has only a localized effect, but rather has a ripple effect around the world. We have worked hard to inject additional capacity into key routes on our network to provide further space for our customers, and we continue to do so.”

OOIL expects the container shipping market to remain strong until early next year, with forecasts for high US imports and limited newbuilding deliveries. “US data shows US GDP already back to above pandemic levels, and very importantly it still shows retail-sector inventory-to-sales ratios at historic lows,” the report said. “There is an ongoing need for a high level of imports to satisfy local demand. The network continues to see multiple operational disruptions, reducing the ability of container shipping companies to satisfy the strong levels of customer demand.”

While container lines have rushed to place newbuilding orders in recent months, OOIL pointed out yard deliveries will stay limited by 2023 as vessel construction takes time. “We monitor the market continually for early signs of any change in circumstances, but for the time being, it would appear that the outlook for the remainder of 2021 and the early part of 2022 seems promising,” the company said. “Beyond that, in this time of Covid-19 and of the early stages of economy recovery, it is simply impossible to predict.”

The company, a subsidiary of state giant China Cosco Shipping container arm China Cosco Holdings, declared an interim dividend of $1.76 and a special dividend of $2.65 per share. Cosco Holdings also owns Cosco Shipping Lines, anther major box carrier.

Grindrod Shipping chief executive Martyn Wade is bullish on the future of the bulker market, despite any possible pandemic-related disruption in China. He said his New York-listed company has heard reports that river pilots on the Yangtze River may have to quarantine amid spiking virus cases in China, the coast of which welcomes 22% of the global dry bulk fleet. “Most certainly it’s interesting what’s going on in China actually from a Covid perspective at the moment,” he said during a call with analysts. “It is staggering how much congestion, with another figure that 7% of the world’s fleet are basically tied up in congestion in China. That’s all very positive.”

Wade acknowledged that China might slow down steel production in efforts to curb emissions and contain the virus, but he noted that the country’s output is at record levels. “So, demand is there,” he said. “So, when we actually looked at all the Q2 commodity figures, what was very pleasing was that well, it has rebounded.”

He also pointed out that the forward freight agreement rate for supramaxes has fallen to around $24,000 per day for 2022’s first quarter from about $33,000 per day for the last three months of 2021. “Traditionally, it comes off,” he said. “But as I think as we found this year, can we realistically expect China to allow 100m people to go home? So, our feeling is it might be a little stronger, but we’re kind of taking quarter-by-quarter and demand is there and there’s nothing in the figures now that suggests anything that’s going to end anytime soon. Beyond that, the orderbook is at its lowest level in many years, he said. “That’s always positive,” he said.

“If the orderbook has only started picking up, then we always know what happens next, but that could be years away now. So, all in all, I think it’s quite optimistic.”

Grindrod owns 15 handysize bulkers and eight supramaxes. It also charters in another eight supramaxes.

A hectic week in the capesize market helped the Baltic Dry Index rise above 4,000 points on Friday for the first time since June 2010. The index, which gives an overall indication of the strength of dry-cargo markets, climbed by 116 points to reach 4,092. The increase comes principally on the back of another big rise in capesize spot rates, which contribute 40% of the BDI’s calculation alongside panamax and supramax assessments, each accounting for 30%.

Baltic panelists assessed the 5TC weighted-average spot rate across five key capesize routes at $49,731 per day on Friday, up by $2,370 since Thursday. The assessment marks the end of a week of record gains for the capesize market. The 5TC assessment has risen by $9,494 since Monday, surpassing the old one-week record of $9,333 set in October 2020. Steady chartering activity and increasingly firm rates have driven up the Baltic assessments this week, especially for iron ore cargoes from Brazil and Western Australia. Ballasters to Brazil and in the north Atlantic have been in short supply, causing spot rates on the Baltic’s Brazil to China benchmark for iron ore to increase to $36.125 per tonne on Friday, up by $1.28 since the previous day. Word circulated in the market on Friday that Brazilian miner Vale fixed capesizes for China trips at the remarkable level of $40 per tonne. But fixtures reported by Baltic panelists on Friday showed three new capesize deals for the miner, all fixed on Thursday at $35 per tonne for loading dates in mid-September. Panelists assessed time-charter trips from the European continent and Mediterranean to ports in China and Japan $2,400 higher on Friday at a stunning $74,850 per day.

Meanwhile in the Pacific, the Baltic’s Western Australia to China voyage route for iron ore climbed to $15.823 on Friday, up by 58 cents since Thursday. Panelists added a huge $3,001 to their assessment of transpacific round-voyages from China/Japan, which were estimated at $52,025 per day on Friday. The rapid increase in spot rates has enabled market players to make a quick profit by reletting vessels.

NYK Line’s 176,800-dwt Shiosai (built 2009) was reportedly fixed to Cargill on Thursday for a trip from Tubarao, Brazil to China at $35 per tonne, loading from 7 September with an option to call in West Africa. The vessel was relet in the market by Louis Dreyfus Commodities, which had booked the vessel on 13 August for the same trip at $32.50 per tonne. Reletting the vessel to Cargill will generate a profit of $425,000 for LDC, based on a 170,000-tonne cargo.

The week’s capesize chartering activity is set against a spectacular fall in commodity prices for iron ore as China seeks to curb pollution by reducing steel production. The spot price for ore with 62% iron content slumped by 14% on Thursday alone and on Friday was trading at $160.38 per tonne. The benchmark has lost around one-third of its value since the record high of $237.57 per tonne on May 12. The outlook for Chinese iron-ore demand looks unclear in the face of conflicting domestic policies on infrastructural investment, steel production, pollution and market speculation.

With capes closing in on the $50,000 per day mark, something not seen since June 2010, an important driver in today’s hot dry bulk market is not demand, but congestion. While Splash has reported repeatedly about the effects of port congestion on container shipping, similar issues are coming to light in the dry bulk space. More dry bulk ships are tied up by port congestion than ever before, according to new research from brokers Braemar ACM.

Bulk carrier queues around the world hit a peak of almost 142m dwt over the weekend with China accounting for more than a third of this congestion. Bulker capacity queuing in China hit an all-time high of 52.7m dwt on the weekend, representing 6% of the global trading fleet. This figure also represents a spike of 28% month-on-month and 23% versus this time last year.

The sudden spike in Chinese congestion comes as Beijing cracks down on the threat posed by the delta variant of Covid-19, with many more precautionary measures recently put in place for ships entering Chinese waters. The China congestion issue is affecting all ship sizes, from capes to handies. Ships carrying grain have also suffered as China’s grain silos are extremely full this month.

Capes are now trading above $47,000 a day, while handies are at 2008 levels, and the Baltic’s 58k supramax index has surpassed $35,000 per day for the first time since it began printing in 2015. “Looking forward, it seems unlikely that the COVID-related stresses on China’s port activity will ease overnight, and with little room for grain capacity expansion, the pile-up of agricultural cargoes is also unlikely to quickly diminish,” Braemar ACM predicted in a note to clients, adding: “On the bigger ships, the recent uptick in iron ore shipments in both basins could also trigger an increase in the volume of Cape arrivals in China over the next few weeks, sustaining queues further. With these factors in mind, we believe there is still further upside to today’s incredibly strong market, despite this week’s turmoil in commodity prices.” Iron ore prices have fallen by around $100 in recent days; however, shipping experts argue that this has no bearing of where the freight markets are headed.

In a post on LinkedIn, Dr Roar Adland, shipping chair professor at Norwegian School of Economics, argued: “The absolute level of commodity prices actually has no long-term bearing on freight rates. In shipping we care only about volumes exported. If prices were high in May because demand was high and supply constrained, then this need not be better for the freight market than the case where supply increases and iron ore prices fall.”

Analysts at Lorentzen & Stemoco also discussed this issue in a note to clients this morning. “Chinese steel mills may need to restock their inventories, as stocks in port are running at critically low levels,” Lorentzen & Stemoco suggested. Chinese authorities are forecasting the country’s iron ore requirements this year at some 1.4bn tons. By contrast, the latest assessment by the Mysteel consultancy is that there are 127m tons lying in the 45 biggest ports, which roughly covers only a month of forward consumption.

Furthermore, Lorentzen & Stemoco pointed out overseas mining companies in Brazil and Australia could be concerned about the steep decline in the futures prices and accordingly are eager to ship out as much as possible at still-high prices.

Walmart has become the latest big American retail brand to take shipping matters into its own hands, chartering several ships. The giant supermarket chain follows in the footsteps of Home Depot in deciding to move some of its goods on the transpacific via tonnage it controls rather than pay sky high rates to global liners for shipments that tend to arrive late.

In an earnings call on Tuesday, Walmart’s CEO, John Furner, revealed: “We’ve chartered vessels … we’ve secured capacity for the third and fourth quarter and feel good about the inventory positioning particularly compared to last year with inventory up 20% across the segments.”

According to Steve Ferreira, the CEO of New York-based consultancy Ocean Audit, Walmart has already completed two voyages, both arriving in the US this month, using Walmart branded 53 ft containers. The first voyage had 177 53 ft boxes onboard, and the second one contained 247 similarly sized containers.

Shippers deciding to take control of their own supply chains is not restricted to chartering ships. Splash reported earlier this week of the decision of a major Canadian Tire manufacturer to invest in an inland container terminal. Ports in North America are struggling to keep up with this year’s peak season.

Giving an update on operations on Tuesday, Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, America’s largest box port, said the challenge facing the entire supply chain amounts to “squeezing 10 lanes of freeway traffic into five lanes”. The port boss advised consumers to get their Christmas shopping plans in place far earlier this year or risk having some very disappointed family members come December 25.

The extraordinary pressure felt at many of America’s ports on intermodal routes is making headlines daily in US mainstream media. Earlier in the summer the White House announced the creation of a Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force. Led by the secretaries of commerce, transportation and agriculture, the task force aims to bring together stakeholders “to diagnose problems and surface solutions – large and small, public or private – that could help alleviate bottlenecks and supply constraints.”