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With the rise of the Corona Virus Outbreak (COVID-19) , the global shipping industry is underway to have a negative impact on a number of markets which ultimately is affecting the global economy by billion dollars.  According to Intermodal’s SnP Broker, Mr. Zisis Stylianos, “the Chinese government announced that aggressive measures will come into effect in an effort to limit the impact of a major shock from the spread of the Coronavirus Outbreak to the global economy. Part of these measures will include a brave injection of 1.2 trillion yuan (EUR 156 billion) in the country’s financial system as well as tariff exemptions on US farm, medical and energy products. In an effort to assess the extent that the economic impact the virus outbreak will have, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated that only a 0.1%-0.2% of the global economy will be affected, with this cost climbing up to 0.3% of the global GDP in the most pessimistic scenario”. There is a huge slowdown due to the Pandemic which has swept the entire global supply chain, cutting down production in China, giving a setback to global trade and the movement of goods from iron ore to consumer electronics. It has also urged companies to embrace a compassionate approach in vindicating their expenses without going for extensive pay cuts. More significantly, the strike in port calls is not only occurring worldwide but also in China. Shipping companies have been reducing scheduled capacity since about August of 2018 on most trade lanes as trade wars slow global demand for cargo capacity. In the second half of January and early February, this drop accelerated significantly. The centrality of China to the movement of goods around the world explains this: if Chinese ports are not loading or discharging containers, there is no reason to stop at the port where the shipment is supposed to go to or come from. The move towards bigger container ships is another important factor at play: a missed port call now has a more profound impact on available capacity. Source: https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com https://unctad.org