Yang Ming (America) Corp.

The global financial and economic crisis is unprecedented for people younger than 88. It started with the U.S. housing mortgage crunch and led to the bankruptcy of investment banks. People and industries worldwide are affected. Globalization has been dealt a setback. People have been forced to tighten their belts to the extent most have never experienced. The container liner industry, summoned to Washington in early 2008 by exporters and the Federal Maritime Commission for not providing sufficient space for U.S. exporters, now is laying up ships in many ports in Asia and struggling to pay loans for new vessels. Many consulting firms and analysts are even warning that some of the shipping lines may go bankrupt or be forced to merge if the global economic downturn cannot turnaround this year. We hope the economic rescue measures taken by the U.S. and other governments can save the intricate global economy as soon as possible. If there is one industry that can help save ocean carriers, it is the North American railroads. Many railroads have overwhelming bargaining power versus shipping carriers and have been making handsome profits over the past three years, even when shipping carriers have lost money. For importers and exporters, it is important to choose good shipping carriers that can deliver your cargo without discontinuity in 2009.