Today’s Pickup: Four in five Americans view foreign trade as an opportunity

Quotable

“Shale production economics in the U.S. continue to point to a Brent price floor around $50 per barrel or a WTI price floor of $45 per barrel.”

– Bank of America Merrill Lynch in its report (while stating that the U.S. shale industry won’t likely rebound from its current slump).

In other news

Shipping’s smaller operators are most susceptible to the coronavirus financial impact

While big cargo carriers idle ships, niche operators critical to secondary trade lanes have little room to hide in a downturn. (WSJ)

Shale decline inevitable as oil prices crash

The U.S. shale industry continues to show signs of slowing down, with production declining in major shale basins outside of the Permian. (Oilprice)

The U.S.-China trade war unintentionally prepared companies for coronavirus

Because of the protracted trade war, some U.S. companies sought to get shipments out of China ahead of previously scheduled tariffs and before the virus outbreak. (Yahoo Finance)

Waymo doesn’t like California’s benchmark for self-driving research

The Alphabet subsidiary echoes Cruise’s criticisms of “disengagements.” (Engadget)

China’s top container ports unclog backlog as virus curbs ease

Chinese workers return to their posts after coronavirus travel curbs. The curbs that kept them away and jammed up global supply chains have been eased. (Reuters)

Final thoughts

A new study on the impact of on-demand ride-hailing has found that these trips create 69% more emissions on average than the trips they displace. The industry would need to realize the harm it creates and implement strategies that address these issues – including, but not restricted to – electrification, carpooling and complementary mass transit. Governments must also push for regulations that make it easier for ride-hailing companies to realize changes to their operations.

Hammer down everyone!