Where are all the containers

The hidden costs to consumers [Click to view in browser](. Good afternoon, Only 40% of global container ships arrived on time in March. Delays sometimes stretched more than six days. Normally, 70% arrive on time. [Cargo Ships Collide In Pakistan Dropping Cars Into The Water | Cargo shipping, Cargo, Water] Two culprits created this quagmire: imbalance and inefficiency. Imbalance What didn’t Covid screw with? It certainly wasn’t shipping containers. It’s not that we don’t have enough shipping containers, but they aren’t in the right places. When Covid hit, countries went into lockdown mode, ceasing production and freezing their economies. Consequently, shipping companies reduced the number of ships they sent out and empty containers not being collected. Those containers piled up at inland facilities across the globe. Funny enough, when demand bounced back hard, there weren’t enough containers at the front-end of the supply chain to service demand. Most of us never consider the importance of reverse logistics. Yet, it’s vital to global supply chains. Three Chinese companies - CXIC, CIMC, and DFIC - produce 80% of the world’s containers. Their facilities are in overdrive right now attempting to meet demand. However, the imbalance is so severe, we’re not expected to recover until sometime into 2022. Inefficiency Colonial Pipeline exposed a constant irritant to North American trade - The Jones Act. The archaic law, which many attempted to dismantle over the years, provides that only ships built, operated, and owned in the U.S. can transport between U.S. ports. That means any freight ship or otherwise from another country has to deadhead (travel empty) if they cannot find a reverse logistics shipment at their destination port. At the same time, ports like the Port of Los Angeles, are overwhelmed by traffic while they’re grappling with Covid. These massive ports control the majority of the ocean freight. As we’ve seen in the past, shutdowns caused by everything from boat crashes to union strikes create enormous backlogs. What it means for us Costs get passed along to the consumers. This is just one of the myriad of inflationary pressures we face. The only good news is that if you invested in maritime shippers, they’re doing splendidly this year. Our hot take If you want to follow the inflation story, create a set of leading indicators to monitor supply chain costs. Maritime rates are a great one to add. When shipping rates start to decline, that will be the first sign of supply chain costs normalizing and inflation easing. Below you’ll find some articles that highlight some interesting news stories impacting our lives. Power Plays [5 Fastest Growing Real Estate Markets in America]( In this article we are going to list the 5 fastest growing real estate markets in America. 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