The Baltic Dry Bulk Index, a proxy for global trade, has hit fresh record lows every day since the beginning of 2016 as falling demand from China upends business at the world’s largest shipping firms, The Wall Street Journal reported. “Things have just stopped in China,” said George Logothetis, chairman and chief executive international shipping firm Libra Group. He described the situation as “Armageddon level.” Basil Karatzas, a New York-based maritime adviser, called the situation “a bloodbath, which calls into question the survival of many dry-bulk shipping companies.” He said the number of large general-cargo vessels in the water exceeded demand by more than 50%.
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