We’ve addressed a wide range of events over recent years that have created subtle and drastic changes to our industry. Many of these events couldn’t have been foreseen, including terror attacks, natural disasters and ever-increasing oil prices. Looking forward, we are again trying to predict, plan and budget for the future, and in so doing, we must look to the U.S. and global economy.
The recent collapse of Greece’s economy, Italy’s looming economic issues and the future of the euro as a whole will have profound effects on the maritime industry. It’s widely recognized that the European economic crisis is one of the main challenges to the global economy. How will Europe handle this crisis and how fast can it be curtailed? How will the Asia-Pacific economies react to the European situation? Will the European crisis negatively affect the new emerging markets throughout the rest of the world.
There obviously will continue to be cause-and-effect issues with the U.S. economy as a result of the European crisis. More directly, however, the U.S. economy continues to fail in raising consumer and business activity despite the better-than-projected numbers for the start of the second half of 2011. Job growth within the U.S. remains slower than needed, and job availability doesn’t seem to be great enough to deflate unemployment. The housing market, being a great mover of bulk and breakbulk cargoes, also continues to be depressed, with a continued increase in distressed properties.
Any uptick in the U.S. and global economies will have profound positive effects on the maritime sector, helping to fill our vessels and keep our ports busy.