“In China we had a supply shock, a production shortage from closed factories and reduced truck numbers,” Jeremy Nixon, chief executive of Japan’s Ocean Network Express, the world’s sixth biggest container carrier by capacity, said in an interview. “Now we are looking at a demand side shock which is impacting North America and Europe by the sudden lockdowns of cities.” Container ships move the vast majority of manufactured goods, from medicine and food to clothing, electronics and cars. Shipping executives expect volumes to decline about 10% this year because of the spreading Covid-19 crisis, similar to the decline in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Newsletter Sign-up China accounts for an estimated 40% of business for container shipping companies. Supply chains were rattled as Beijing shut down factories, roads and ports in the second half of February, including a broad lockdown in the industrial Hubei province at the […]