The Economist

Never let it be said that economists are an optimistic bunch; we have a tendency to look for the downside in statistics, looking for reasons to scale things back to suggest that…

It seems to me, as an interested observer, that the western hemisphere is in a gambling mood. There is a lot of hedging and slight of hand going on in the supposed…

The global economy is entering a difficult period, the outcome of which we cannot guess at this stage.

Terminal operators today are moving to re-define their role, to come up with an identity that clarifies what they do. At least that is the case in container terminals; bulk terminals have…

The wider impact of the the Japanese tsunami and subsequent radiation leaks has broad repercussions for the shipping and ports industry.

Our industry expects economists to provide forecasts for the months and years ahead, prognosticating about demand and supply as well as financial returns. We spout optimism and pessimism with equanimity, but often…

Being an economist is not easy. We are expected to have an opinion on the state of the economy but are usually castigated for our views.

The liner industry has entered the slow season. Normally the peak season comes around late August through early October, but this year it came early in the July-August period.

The spectre of mass insolvency and bankruptcy appears to be behind us as the maritime industry roars to the end of 2010 with excellent financial results for the first half of the…

After over a year of a constant stream of depressing financial reporting from shipping lines terminal operators and port authorities we are finally seeing positive numbers being announced in the financial results.

The latest G20 meeting resulted in a communique that endorses austerity and debt reduction.

The global container terminal operators reported profits in 2009 despite the shipping global recession and shipping calamity.

One of the key issues to emerge at the 12th Global Liner Shipping conference in London was the continuing mistrust between shippers and carriers.

At the recent Journal of Commerce conference in Oakland (TPM) one of the major carrier’s chief executives suggested that the industry had not been ready for the boom in cargo and had…