Supply Chain Research

The Brazilian shipping industry is facing a series of challenges. Bulk shipping is may decline due to disruptions to iron ore exports while soybean shipping may be more a function of U.S.-China trade policy than fundamentals. Total shipping into and out of Brazillian ports declined 7.9% year over year in January after a 2.7% improvement in 4Q. Container-lines are not immune and suffered a 4.7% year over year drop in January. Among the large container shipping firms MSC did worst with a 14.2% year over year slump in volumes while its 2M Alliance partner Maersk saw a 6.3% slide. By contras...