What you need when you need it.

We benefit from an advanced supply chain system which coordinates shipments from raw goods to manufacturer, wholesale and retail. Whenever a store shelf becomes empty, a new truck should be pulling in with workers unloading exactly the goods that are needed. You may have worked somewhere along the way.

However, what happens when there are disruptions?

"South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd filed for court receivership on Wednesday after losing the support of its banks, setting the stage for its assets to be frozen as ports from China to Spain denied access to its vessels."

'"Now Hanjin must do everything it can to protect its clients' cargoes and make sure they are not delayed to their destination, by filing injunctions to block seizures in all the countries where its ships are located," said Bongiee Joh, managing director of the Korea Shipowners' Association.' { Reuters https://is.gd/idinob }

Around the world

"There are currently over 17 million shipping containers in the world, and five or six million of them are currently shipping around the world on vessels, trucks, and trains. In total, they make around 200 million trips a year." https://is.gd/gemume

Hanjin's bankruptcy is the largest ever to hit the shipping industry

"Just imagine, there are some 540,000 containers with cargo caught up at sea," explains Lars Jensen, chief executive of Sea Intelligence Consulting.

"That means that a lot of the goods en route to the US are geared at the busy year-end holidays and any disruption will be a major headache for the companies that have entrusted their products into the hauls of the Hanjin freighters." https://is.gd/sodicu

Consumer Electronics

"LG Electronics, the world's No.2 maker of TVs, told Reuters it was canceling orders with Hanjin and was seeking alternatives to ship its freight. "

"This will have an impact on the entire industry," said Cho Kyung-kyu, a director at the association.

"South Korea's maritime ministry said on Wednesday that Hanjin's woes would affect cargo exports for two or three months, with about 540,000 TEU of cargo already loaded on Hanjin vessels and facing delays." https://is.gd/usahuv

In 2016, Black Friday will be on Friday 25th November 2016.

Stranded sailors

"Each stranded ship has about 15 to 25 crew on board. Unable to call at any port, they will have to depend on the supplies they have with them until a solution can be found. While food should last long enough, they will eventually need fuel. "Unless someone steps in very quickly - and there is no sign of that - this will last a very long time," according to Mr Jensen." https://is.gd/sodicu

Read more about life on a Cargo Ship https://is.gd/akovus