The Lloyd’s List Podcast: Tariffs, box woes and the big bunker question

This week Lloyd’s List Editor Richard Meade is in Singapore taking the temperature of Asia’s shipping market. On the agenda: why the reshoring and near-shoring effect of the trade war is bad news for container shipping; how the box sector BAF battle is shaping up and why the looming 2020 deadline is dominating pretty much every discussion we’re having in Asia right now. Amid a flurry of conferences and industry round tables this week in Singapore, talk has inevitably focussed on the risk posed to the transpacific container trade and the potential threat to intra-Asia markets. The latest tranche of tariffs in the escalating Sino-US trade war will target $200bn of Chinese imports, hitting the container industry exactly where it hurts. But as worrying as that might be, it is the big bunker questions that are currently fuelling the sleepless nights for Asia’s shipping executives (well, that and the endless circuit of parties and receptions). All roads lead to 2020 and the looming question how to pay for the low sulphur switch. Joining Richard on the podcast this week live from Lloyd’s List towers in Singapore we have our China editor Cichen Shen, containers editor James Baker and a podcast debut for our new Asia news editor Vincent Wee. Don’t forget, you can now subscribe to the Lloyd’s List Podcast via iTunes and most other podcast providers. And make sure you are registered for a free account on Lloydslist.com so you can receive our Daily Briefing e-mail.