Illustrating the fragility of global supply chains, in March 2021, a giant container ship plowed through the Suez Canal in Egypt – blocking the “lifeline of world trade”, causing an increase in prices. oil and lead to landslides affecting shipping worldwide.first
It’s hard to believe that a single incident can cause ripples that clog supply chains across the globe, but it is true that a weak link can have devastating effects. In 2021, another weak link emerges in Southern California, home to the bottom two ports in the Container Port Activity Index, created by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.2
Gateways play an important role in the global economy
Between the COVID-19 pandemic, the blocking of the Suez Canal in March 2021, and the war in Ukraine, the global economy continues to be put under extreme stress. According to the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI):3
“The most visible signs of stress in the system are shortages of certain products, ships waiting to be moored outside of major ports and impact on commodity prices. These challenges also further underscore the critical role ports and their associated logistics chains play in the global economy.”
More than 80% of global freight trade by volume is carried by ships, meaning disruptions to ports can lead to major economic disruptions. If a port is underperforming, even for a short time, it can cause shortages of essential goods, driving up prices as happened early in the pandemic.
“But in the medium to long term, an inefficient port will lead to slower economic growth, fewer jobs and higher costs for importers and exporters,” the report explains.4 Because so much of the world’s goods depend on shipping, container ports have become “an important node in the global supply chain and central to the growth strategies of many emerging economies.” The report explains:5
“Ocean shipping is the backbone of globalized trade and manufacturing supply chains. The maritime sector offers the most economical, energy efficient and reliable mode of transport over long distances. More than four-fifths of global merchandise trade (by volume) is transported by sea.
A significant and growing portion of that volume, approximately 35% of the total volume and more than 60% of the trade value, is transported in containers. “
As a result, underperforming ports can put a significant strain on global trade, including shipping delays, supply chain disruptions, additional costs, and reduced competitiveness. Tight schedules are required, so poor performance at one port can easily affect routes at different ports of call:6
“Poor performance at one port on the route can disrupt an entire schedule. The result too often is that instead of facilitating trade, ports increase import and export costs, reduce the competitiveness of the host country and the hinterland, while constraining economic growth and reducing poor. “
The ultimate ranking of Southern California ports
CPPI 2021 ranks 370 ports with at least 20 ports of call during the 12-month study period. It uses both a statistical approach and a technical approach to reflect expert knowledge and judgment to rank container port operations. The key factor in the ranking is the time a vessel spends in port to exchange goods.7
The Port of King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia and the Port of Salalah in Oman took first and second places, with index values of 93,387 and 87,372, respectively. Martin Humphreys, lead shipping economist at the World Bank, told Freight Waves: “In the Middle East, massive investments in container terminal technology and infrastructure are paying off.8
At the other end of the spectrum, coming in second to last are the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in California, with index values of -281,841 and -348,928 respectively.9 Freight Waves cited “numerous factors” leading to the West Coast ship backlog in 2021, including, “COVID-induced labor in ports, slow chassis rotation, lack of container space. , rail service is slow and containers are out of place in the network…”ten
At the best performing ports like King Abdullah Port, 97 containers are shipped per hour, compared with just 26 at ports in California, showing a stark difference in efficiency. “Poor ports are characterized by limited space and operational efficiency, limited access to maritime and shoreline, inadequate monitoring and poor coordination among relevant public authorities. , leading to a lack of predictability and reliability,” according to CPPI.11
In October 2021, 100 ships awaiting discharge at the adjacent ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, according to Reuters, hit a new all-time high.twelfth As the world’s largest trader, the world’s largest importer of dollars, and the largest economy, the United States depends on shipping trade for economic stability and growth. Weaknesses at US ports are contributing to high inflation, which is exacerbated by supply chain issues that make shipping more expensive.13
The nefarious faction of the World Bank
The World Bank produces CPPI in partnership with S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Washington, DC-based World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were formed at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944.14
Each institution has 189 member countries, and to join the IMF, they must first join the World Bank Group. With its stated mission of “reducing poverty and enhancing shared prosperity”, the World Bank Group works in tandem with the IMF, which “serves to stabilize the international monetary system and acts as a monitor the currency of the world.”15
However, while the front end of these institutions appears to be investment in social infrastructure – schools, health systems, drinking water, sanitation and environmental protection – at the base is a dynamic state for maximum control. According to economist and geopolitical analyst Peter Koenig, who has been with the World Bank for more than 30 years:16
“Not only are they regularly lending huge amounts of money to the horror regimes of the world, but they are also blackmailing poor countries into accepting draconian conditions imposed by the West. In other words, the World Bank and IMF are guilty of the most brutal human rights abuses.”
The World Bank and the IMF have offered debt relief in the form of grants or low-interest loans to countries experiencing economic collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are strings attached.
Koenig notes, “You have to follow the rules laid out by WHO, you have to follow the rules about vaccination testing, mandatory vaccinations – if you follow these and other national rules. specific countries, like letting Western corporations exploit your natural resources – you can get, WB [World Bank] and IMF support. “17
Once countries accept aid, they will remain in debt while elites at the top gain increasing control.18 Interestingly, in October 2021, the managing director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, was involved in a data scandal, including the allegation that she pressured her subordinates to enhance China’s position in the world. an influential report by the World Bank.19
After a review by the loan board, she was allowed to continue in her top position. Sam Callahan tweeted after the incident, “One of the most important accusations in the world has been on everyone’s radar.”20
Are disruptions to the supply chain planned?
You may have heard of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Great Regeneration and their plan for you to “own nothing and be happy” as part of the WEF’s 2030 agenda. .21 In the first quarter of 2021, 15% of US homes sold were purchased by corporate investors22 – not families who want to achieve their American dream.
While they are competing with middle-class Americans to buy a home, the average American has almost no chance of winning a home before an investment company can pay 20% to 50% of the price. offer for sale,23 in cash, it is sometimes possible to take entire neighborhoods at once so they can turn them into rentals.24 It seems we are rapidly entering an era where home ownership is becoming out of reach for many people – requiring a home to be rented instead of owned, a first step towards “owning nothing”.
However, World War II was phase 2 of the Great Reconstruction plan, which involved destroying supply chains, the energy sector, the food supply, and the workforce, to create dependence on government, so private interests and the central bank take over. through the collapse of the global economy.25
In addition to problems with ports and maritime trade, the war disrupted extra supplies, sending fertilizer and food prices up. Meanwhile, Bill Gates has been buying American farmland at a frenetic pace and owns more farmland than any other private farmer in the country.26 World leaders have warned that, due to the war in Ukraine – which is considered the breadbasket of the world – food shortages are approaching.
Other strange events have also occurred. For all of 2019, only two fires were reported at US food processing plants. Between January 2021 and April 21, 2022, 18 were reported – a significant jump – and they appear to be accelerating.27 People are starting to notice these seemingly random fires and accidents that are occurring with increasing frequency at food processing plants across the United States.
All of this could be a coincidence, sending the price of food and other consumer goods to record highs and causing shortages of food and other products, or a something more sinister going on?
In the US, some have called for the privatization of ports to improve their performance,28 but others say the problems they face are decades old and won’t change until other big problems – like opportunistic profiteering and the stranglehold of big taxis – are solved. decide.29
