Supply Chain Research

Vehicle shipping line Grimaldi has faced a severe downturn in traffic due to COVID-19, with a recovery likely to take months not weeks. Co-owner Emanuele Grimaldi has noted that “forecasts that we will be fully back in the fall are optimistic”. The degree of downturn can be seen in U.S. seaborne imports of vehicles which dropped by 66.2% in May compared to a year earlier. That was led by a 93.2% slump in shipments from Mexico and an 83.2% collapse in imports from Europe. Shipments of cars and light trucks fell fastest including a slide of 71.3% and 78.6% respectively. Commercial equipmen...