World container port handling will decrease for only the third time since 1979 if US President Donald Trump sticks to his tariff war, according to Simon Heaney, senior manager of container research at Drewry.
“We have a lot of sympathy for container shipping executives trying to game plan for Trump 2.0. There are going to be very few, if any, upsides for container shipping from this trade war,” said Heaney.
Adding to the impact of the tariffs is the “Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America Act of 2024” (SHIPS for America Act).
Speaking during a briefing on the outlook for global shipping, Heaney said the outlook for container shipping was even more uncertain now than it was at the onset of the Covid virus.
“The difference now is that back then the world quickly got to grips with the risks that Covid presented and was able to plot a recovery in a remarkably short space of time.
“However, none of Trump's policy decisions or executive orders relating to trade have any quality of permanence.” Forecasts therefore change with the decisions of the president.
Drewry’s calculations are informed by the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization.
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