Forwarders gloomy over China’s prospects, as US companies move out

© Wilm Ihlenfeld

Oh dear. The fog over China is becoming ever more dense. First, a survey of US businesses shows that one in four companies has moved some operations out of the country, or plan to do so, and 77% say they feel “less welcome” there. A LLL.com article meanwhile shows that forwarders are also struggling with the weakness in China and expect it to be a weak year with continued downward pressure on freight rates. Even the pre-Chinese new year spike doesn’t seem to have appeared. Is intra-Asia the answer?