The fuel is out, a lot of groceries are not being delivered.
The UK is in chaos.
If nothing changes, this can also threaten in Germany.
Munich - It is a huge problem that is now reaching its climax.
In the past few months there have been signs of many difficulties in global trade and transport conditions.
Now the international transport associations are sounding a powerful alarm.
Will British conditions soon threaten Germany?
Delivery bottlenecks everywhere: will there soon be conditions like in England?
The transport industry is plagued by many problems: The working conditions are bad.
There are far too few containers on the world's oceans, which leads to delivery bottlenecks in many industries.
And for well over a year and a half, the corona pandemic has thrown global trade a big thief.
There is no solution in sight.
But on the contrary.
World trade is facing a huge problem - and customers are facing empty shelves.
Trade in concern: One reason is the vaccination against Corona
One reason is the uneven distribution of corona vaccines from Biontech and Co. around the world, as ntv reports. The WHO recently issued a warning. "More than 5.7 billion doses were administered worldwide, but only two percent in Africa," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus two weeks ago. Because Corona is a global pandemic, the virus can only be countered with a global vaccination. The WHO calls for a fairer distribution of vaccines around the world.
As ntv reports, due to the shortage of vaccines in parts of the globe, only 30 percent of seafarers traveling around the world have so far been vaccinated against Covid-19.
The rest are exposed to the risk of infection every day.
The effects are severe: According to ntv, this is one of the reasons why many transport company employees want to quit their jobs.
But it is unlikely that much will change in the unequal distribution all too quickly.
The USA speaks of a "Herculean logistical task" to organize global vaccination.
+
Empty shelves: Associations and unions warn of delivery bottlenecks.
© Frank Augstein / dpa
Retail is suffering, there are many reasons: Are the supermarket shelves empty?
Industry unions are calling for approved vaccines for their employees.
Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ISC), spoke to the US television broadcaster CNN.
He said that many seafarers had to be vaccinated with multiple vaccines because there was no international standard.
But that's by no means the only problem with supply chains.
Companies also affected in Germany: it hits Kik and Rossmann particularly hard
Another complication for the trade is that there have been too few workers in the transport companies for a long time.
The ISC wrote this in a letter to the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN).
Not only are there a shortage of employees: the shortage of containers in international trade also delays many deliveries.
That is why there have been delivery bottlenecks worldwide for very different articles for months.
German dealers had recently announced delivery bottlenecks.
Kik and Rossmann were particularly hard hit.
Such developments could have an impact on trade in Germany: Germany is currently recording the strongest price increase since 1974.
English conditions in Germany?
The concern is justified
The ISC finds clear words: If nothing changes, there is a threat of a “collapse of the global transport system”.
The general secretary of the international transport workers' federation paints a gloomy picture.
Stephen Cotton says: “The global supply chain is very fragile.” It depends on seafarers as well as truck drivers.
In the past, however, far too little attention was paid to the needs of these professional groups.
"It is time" that this was changed, believes Cotten.
If you look at the UK right now, you can see the challenges facing the supply of food or gasoline.
There is currently no solution in sight for retailers.
(dst)
List of rubric lists: © Frank Augstein / dpa
