China’s economic slowdown has resulted in an unexpected development.
It is now cheaper to rent one of these...:
...Than one of these:
The cost of hiring a Capesize class container ship, which are too big to travel through the Panama or Suez canals, has fallen 92% since last summer, according to Bloomberg.
It now costs $1,563 (£1,100) to use one of the ships for a day, not counting fuel costs. In August 2015, the day rate was $20,000.
In contrast, a 50-person wedding marquee, with tables, chairs, dance floor and PA system costs £1,183.38, according to marqueehire.co.uk.
Capesize class ships are mainly used to carry raw materials, such as coal and iron ore - typically to ports in China as the country underwent a period of huge and unprecedented economic.
The economic slowdown in China accompanies a fall in global oil prices, in anticipation of Iran flooding the global oil supply - which is already in surplus - with even more cheap oil. This week it became cheaper to buy a barrel's worth of oil than the barrel it comes in.
