Bleaker outlook for containers, says analyst

Boston: World ocean container trade activity is increasingly reflecting the slowdown in economies other than the already-weak US economy, according to financial analysts Global Insight.

The body has revised downwards it near-term estimates of ocean container trade from the "already-weak volumes" forecasted for 2008 and 2009 on the back of what it calls the "accelerated deterioration in the economies of some of the developed countries in Europe and Asia". "We have been concerned with the growing number of economic indicators for the European Union that point to a greater loss of consumer confidence than had been previously anticipated," says Paul Bingham, managing director of Global Insight's Trade and Transportation Group. "Indicators now suggest that the EU is headed towards recession. Industrial production in the Eurozone fell 1.9% in May, according to recent Eurostat data, the sharpest drop since 1992. In Germany, the government is warning that the economy could contract by as much as 1.5%, while both Italy and Greece have seen industrial production slump 6.2%. Major export destinations for which forecasts have been significantly raised upwards include Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea.
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