Asia | China | Commodities | COVID | Europe | Monetary Policy & Inflation
Why Spiking Shipping Costs Could Threaten The Global Recovery
- By Caroline Grady
- 3 min read
A shortage of shipping containers is not the most obvious constraint on the post-COVID recovery. But it is potentially one of the biggest. It is already pushing up input prices sharply, which means margin squeeze or rising output prices. And the supply disruptions could curb trade volumes and manufacturing output globally.
Could the Manufacturing Recovery Be at Risk?
A strong manufacturing rebound has so far characterized the COVID recovery, with the contact-intensive services sectors lagging. Asia’s manufacturing (and non-tourism-dependent) economies have fared better than the service-orientated economies of Europe and other AEs. And China’s first-in, first-out status in the pandemic pushed its recovery significantly ahead of elsewhere. This manufacturing-led rebound could, however, come under pressure from the intensifying disruptions in supply chains.
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