The port of Singapore has been so badly hit by the global downturn that hundreds of ships are lying idle at anchor waiting for business, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Singapore port no safe haven in economic storm, it says in a grim report, which begins:
On a typical day, more than 500 ships sail in or out of the harbour, an armada of mercantilism that makes Singapore one of the busiest ports in the world.
These days, though, Singapore stands at the terminus of a commerce parking lot. Hundreds of ships idle at anchor within sight of this city-state.
"Look at the number of ships anchored out there," exclaimed David Lum, chief executive of Chicago-based Aon Corp.'s South Asia business, waving an arm toward the still life on the waters visible through both corner windows of his 32nd-floor office. "They're all anchored there with a skeleton crew, waiting for some cargo to load. But there isn't any."
Singapore harbour sums up how the global economic crisis has reached around the globe. Now that China's growth engine has ground to a halt, the supply-chain economics of Southeast Asia are sputtering toward a stopping point too.
That's why maritime Singapore is at a standstill, one that affects the local economy and revenue at Aon, the insurance giant with headquarters off Michigan Avenue.
Aon's revenue from Southeast Asia has declined sharply as ships that hired out a year ago for around $60,000 a day now have a hard time fetching $8,000 a day, and far fewer are leaving port.
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