When Times Are Tough, Victory Goes to Those Who Control their Destiny

To appreciate the endgame, one has to look at the bigger picture. In 2010, it was not the economy stupid! The economic recovery was on track, with the OECD economies showing low but positive growth. As a proxy, in the U.S., real GDP growth was 2.8%, the stock market gained 13% and 1.1 million private sector jobs were added. And, most importantly consumer confidence was growing. In the emerging countries, growth continued on a remarkable pace with China leading the way. Growth however created inflation fears and China adopted monetary policies to slow the growth to a more reasonable level. The policies worked but the fallout from the slowdown was felt worldwide. After all, the world had become China-centric and shipping, as a leading indicator, felt the tremors first. So, if the economy was recovering, with demand growing, where was shipping headed? The results in each sector were mixed and the wounds largely self-inflicted.

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