As the losses pour in, it is hardly surprising to see container carriers preparing to hit shippers with hefty GRIs.

The traditional government inertia means Hong Kong’s inexorable transition to a transshipment port will continue.

Summer can’t come fast enough for the frozen northeast.

In the parallel universe occupied by container shipping lines, the steep rate hikes are unrealistic and a desperate attempt to raise profitability before signing annual contracts.

The real growth in Hong Kong lies in the double counting of transhipment cargo barged down the Pearl River or fed in from regional ports.

The bad news is that this year will not be a good one, and probably not next year, either. The good news is that the future is so bright HSBC’s trade analysts have all flipped down their welding helmets.

Russia’s transportation officials are failing to address the country’s vast infrastructure shortcomings, bureaucratic snafus and general mismanagement.

Unless there is a mass withdrawal of capacity, the container shipping business is going to have a very unhappy 2012.