Here's what's behind the container ship traffic jam causing delays around the world
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Here's what's behind the container ship traffic jam causing delays around the world

Trade wars, the pandemic and an accident at the Suez Canal have interrupted the rhythm of container ship movement, causing disruptions for international trade.
10:03
Fri, Jul 2 202112:42 PM EDT

Brad Howard

Brad Howard, CNBC.com producer

Shipping slowdowns are happening everywhere.

Lori Ann LaRocco, Author "Trade War: Containers Don't Lie, Navigating the Bluster", CNBC business news

We are all connected. So if one major port goes down, it literally impacts the whole sum of all the parts.

Brad Howard

The Ever Given, which clogged up the super important Suez Canal back in March of 2021, was the canary in the coal mine for recent global trade slowdowns. But before this calamity disruptions from the covid-19 pandemic hit port after port with the aftershocks hitting the consumer market.

Gene Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles

90% of world trade moves on water.

Brad Howard

In 2019, 11.1 billion tons of goods were moved across the world's oceans. And according to the World Shipping Council, the liner industry moves more than $4 trillion in goods annually. These vessels depend on people to get them from A to B and the complex logistics systems that make up the global trade network. But what happens when things don't go according to plan?