FATHER CHRISTMAS and the global container-shipping industry have similar objectives, though the timescales differ. Santa’s world-spanning logistics operation aims to deliver presents all in one night. Shipping firms step theirs up around September to ensure that gifts and other seasonal goods join a vast global supply chain. But a system that usually operates unnoticed (and unremarked upon) is still in chaos. For months a covid-induced maelstrom of delays and sky-high shipping rates has left goods lingering at sea and bare shelves in shops around the world. Politicians insist that the snarls will disappear. But survey the horizon and there is little sign of smoother sailing.
The pandemic has hit shipping
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