Germany’s shipping industry faces a wave of bankruptcies over coming months as funding dries up and deepening economic woes across the world cause a sharp contraction in container trade.
Over 100 German ship funds have already shut down as the long-simmering crisis
in global container shipping finally comes to a head. A further 800 funds
are threatened with insolvency, according to consultants TPW in Hamburg.
They are not alone. Britain’s oldest shipowner, Stephenson Clark, dating back
to 1730, went
into liquidation last week, closing the final chapter of Britain’s
coal trade and the industrial revolution.
It cited “incredibly depressed” vessel rates. The firm over-invested in the
boom four years ago, betting too much on the China syndrome.
Germany is the superpower of container shipping, controlling almost 40pc of
the world market. The Germans also misread the cycle and have been
struggling to cope ever since with a legacy of debt and a glut of ships. Now
everything is going wrong at once.
Container volumes arriving at European ports plunged in June, dashing
expectations of a summer rebound. Imports fell 7.5pc from North America and
9pc from Asia. Flows into the Mediterranean region crashed by 16pc,
reflecting the violence of the recession in Greece, Italy, Spain, and
Portugal.
Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9473476/World-shipping-crisis-threatens-German-dominance-as-Greeks-win-long-game.html
Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9473476/World-shipping-crisis-threatens-German-dominance-as-Greeks-win-long-game.html
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