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Brendan Murray
For Brendan Murray's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Tugboats guide the Maersk Atlanta container ship at the Port of Newark in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday. The bridge collapse Tuesday that shut the Port of Baltimore and closed a major highway will cause weeks or months of transportation disruptions in the Mid-Atlantic region.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2024
Baltimore ship accident has east coast ports scrambling to absorb cargo
The bridge collapse will accelerate a shift of cargo to the U.S. West Coast in order to avoid potential bottlenecks at trade gateways from Boston to Miami.
The Dali cargo vessel that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2024
Baltimore’s freak bridge collapse reverberates from cars to coal
The aftermath of the bridge’s collapse throws another spotlight on the fragile nature of global supply chains.
Laws governing global e-commerce and the growing tidal wave of data that crosses borders may soon change.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 22, 2024
Streaming a movie abroad may soon come with taxes at the border
It's still unclear exactly how governments would implement digital tariffs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2022
Supply chains inching back to normal brace for headwinds of softer demand
The gradual end of the pandemic-driven supply crunch might give way to another potential headache: a slump in consumer demand that throws economic growth into reverse.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 26, 2022
Global supply chain crisis flares up again where it all began
Beijing's zero-tolerance approach amid an escalating virus outbreak brings the pandemic full circle, more than two years after its emergence in Wuhan upended the global economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2022
Global supply lines brace for ‘menacing’ economic storm to widen
Although global supply strains started to ease in early 2022, the situation is worsening again as headwinds strengthen from the war in Ukraine and China's COVID-19 lockdowns.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2022
Ukraine invasion fallout hitting already-battered supply chains
Oil is now topping $110 a barrel, while European natural gas hit an all-time high this week. Wheat soared past $11 a bushel to the highest level in 14 years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 18, 2022
Economists warn of inflationary effect as shipping firms enjoy record profits
Supply chain issues and high shipping rates have thrown a spotlight on the market concentration of shipping lines and their legal immunity from antitrust laws.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2021
Supply chain crisis risks taking the global economy down with it
New indicators underscore the extremity of the problem, the world's failure to find a quick fix and how in some regions the Big Crunch of 2021 is still getting worse.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 17, 2021
The world economy is suddenly running low on everything
A year ago, as the pandemic ravaged country after country, consumers were the ones panic-buying. Today, on the rebound, it's companies furiously stocking up.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2021
Container crunch upends global food trade while ships queue at U.S. ports
Food is piling up in all the wrong places, thanks to carriers hauling empty shipping containers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 14, 2021
World economy’s fragile rebound boxed in amid shipping logjams
Some factories complain they can't consider new orders until the clogged pipeline clears.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 26, 2020
The supply chain to save the world is unprepared for a vaccine
The industries that shepherd goods around the world on ships, planes and trucks acknowledge they aren’t ready to handle the epic challenges of shipping an eventual COVID-19 vaccine from drugmakers to billions of people.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2019
Trump says phase one of China trade deal 'could happen soon'
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