According to new figures from the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), the shipping industry is seeing the biggest spike in lost containers in five years. More than 3,000 boxes dropped into the sea last year, and more than 1,000 have fallen overboard so far in 2021.
Ocean carriers successfully mitigated the impact of the supply disruption of the coronavirus outbreak in China during the latter part of Q1 by an aggressive blanking strategy, involving the withdrawal of some 36% of Asia to Europe sailings and 28% of transpacific head haul loaders during February.
The Gulf Leading electronics giant Brand, Maser’s CEO and Founder Mr. Prateek Suri said that the COVID-19 pandemic has heavily affected the global shipping industry with a $30 billion loss.
“The pandemic has sent shockwaves through supply chains, shipping networks, and ports, leading to plummeting cargo volumes and foiling growth prospects, the situation has heavily affected global shipping industry to $30 billion loss,” Maser CEO and Founder said in a statement from Dubai.
Mr. Suri added: “As this pandemic has consequences to all people, companies, and health systems as well (inter)national economies, MASER has taken responsibilities to ensure that works are going on but with all precautions according to all safety standards.”
“MASER will focus on the continuation of all our operations and services to ensure that we can still contribute to the customers’ desires, schedules, and supply chains,” he observed.
This pandemic has caused the shipping and maritime industry to face the worst circumstances as the workforce in these sectors has been shut down for the safety and prevention of the escalation of COVID-19. This setback has also been caused due to the standstill of all kinds of cargos via water or air during this quarantine period (period of isolation) as the transportation of such cargos in ships or through the air can be possibly carried with it the virus from one port to another.
The Maser founder has further said that there has been quite a demand for affordable TVs as the COVID 19 pandemic forced people to stay at home.
Mr. Suri noted: “We got many inquiries through email for our products in Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, and other African markets. It is our goal to supply affordable and quality electronics products to all homes in Africa.”
He insists: “With people forced to stay at home due to the COVID pandemic, there had been increased demand affordable and quality of smart TVs from retail consumers under lockdowns, as people at home keep streaming content from digital platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.”
There has been a surge in online sales, and the company expects that to continue as people refrain from going outside and streaming platforms acquire exclusive content for smart TVs.
“Working from home has provided us with an opportunity to fine-tune our strategy, evaluate our performance, and develop a roadmap for the future. The past few months presented many businesses with a steep learning curve. For the redistribution market, it will all depend on how sales resume post-COVID,” he says.
He pointed out that Maser’s vision is to see each African home watching a big-screen LED TV and enjoy their favorite channels at home.
Speaking on Maser’s long-term vision, Suri said: “Our Company is driven by technological innovation and a passion to make high-quality products that are affordable and accessible to all, runs on the ambition to become a global leader in the affordable consumer electronics segment.”
Moreover, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) last year predicted that demand for air travel will fall for the first time in more than a decade.
Airlines in China and other parts of the Asia Pacific region are expected to take the vast majority of the impact. It comes as carriers around the world have been forced to reduce flights.
In total, airlines in the Asia Pacific region are set to see a $27.8bn revenue loss in 2020, while those outside Asia are expected to lose $1.5bn in revenue, IATA has forecast.
Of that figure, IATA predicted that carriers in China are set to lose revenue of $12.8bn in their home market alone.
