Originally Posted By: Bingley
We all have the essentials, but it's hard for me to figure out what to stock up in case of a global shipping slowdown.

Let's make sure we are clear about this. Global shipping volume has not slowed down. The rate of increase in global shipping volume has slowed. This, along with an oversupply of ships, has led to a drop in the cost of shipping. The state of the shipping industry looks like a classic bubble to me.

Reuters
Quote:
World trade volumes rose by just 1.5 percent in the three months between September and November compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the Netherlands Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis.
------snip------
Volume growth has fallen from 4.2 percent in the 12 months ending December 2014/February 2015 to just 1.5 percent in the 12 months ending September 2015/November 2015.
Note that trade volume is still growing, it just isn't growing as fast as expected.

The slowing of growth in shipping may or may not be a bad thing in the long run, but I expect that Bingley will continue to get his electronics, Jeanette Isablle will get her fruits, spices and meds, and Hikermor (and me) will continue to get our coffee.

Everyone just take a deep breath and relax. The sky is not falling.
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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz