Shipping gets smashed by coronavirus in more ways than one

Gantry cranes stand with shipping containers at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China. The shipping industry tends to do badly when Chinese demand disappoints, but the outbreak of the coronavirus has done more than just damage the amount of cargo that needs to be transported. It’s also preventing many owners from making their ships commercially viable. - Bloomberg

SHANGHAI/LONDON: The shipping industry tends to do badly when Chinese demand disappoints, but the outbreak of the coronavirus has done more than just damage the amount of cargo that needs to be transported. It’s also preventing many owners from making their ships commercially viable.

Giant Capesize carriers that take iron ore and coal to China are now earning less than US$2,600 a day, according to the Baltic Exchange in London.