B8| Friday, March 6, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
haust systemsto comply with
new regulations.
Some shipping lines have
levied surcharges as high as
$2,000 per refrigerated con-
tainer on voyages to China and
other Asian destinations,
roughly doubling the cost to
ship a container of oranges.
Other lines have warned ex-
porters they will be saddled
with costs if congestion at Chi-
nese ports forces carriers to di-
vert cargo to other countries.
“Everyone is fighting for
containers. It’s cutthroat,” said
Dalton Dovolis, who handles
China exports for International
Produce Group, a Salinas, Ca-
lif.-based exporter of fruits and
vegetables. The limited supply
of refrigerated containers
might cut his orange shipments
to China in half this week, Mr.
Dovolis said.
Roughly one-fifth of the hay
that Anderson Hay & Grain Co.
ships goes to China, where
large dairy producers feed it to
their cows.
“Changes in vessel schedules
are the biggest mess we’re
dealing with,” said Mark An-
derson, chief executive of the
Ellensburg, Wash., company,
one of the largest U.S. hay ex-
porters. His company moved
some 10% less hay to China in
February than expected.
“We’re constantly trying to
rearrange the schedule to keep
product going to our custom-Net YTD
Fund NAV Chg % Ret
American Century Inv
Ultra 51.49 -1.83 -1.3
American Funds Cl A
AmcpA p 32.02 -0.99 -4.6
AMutlA p 40.88 -1.08 -6.1
BalA p 27.94 -0.48 -2.0
BondA p 13.72 +0.06 5.2
CapIBA p 60.74 -1.05 -4.1
CapWGrA 48.62 -1.32 -7.0
EupacA p 51.04 -1.11 -8.3
FdInvA p 58.11 -1.92 -6.3
GwthA p 49.70 -1.56 -2.8
HI TrA p 9.88 -0.10 -1.0
ICAA p 36.74 -1.10 -7.2
IncoA p 22.23 -0.41 -4.3
N PerA p 45.05 -1.39 -4.7
NEcoA p 44.24 -1.25 -3.2
NwWrldA 65.57 -1.57 -7.1
SmCpA p 55.28 -1.47 -6.0
TxExA p 13.68 ... 3.1
WshA p 44.61 -1.48 -7.4
Baird Funds
AggBdInst 11.68 +0.03 4.6
CorBdInst 12.00 +0.02 4.2
BlackRock Funds
HiYldBd Inst 7.69 ... -0.1
BlackRock Funds A
GlblAlloc p 19.01 ... -1.0
BlackRock Funds Inst
EqtyDivd 18.69 -0.61 -10.5
MultiAstIncome10.89 ... -0.1
StratIncOpptyIns10.06 ... 1.4
Bridge Builder Trust
CoreBond 10.86 +0.05 4.7
CorePlusBond NA ... NA
Intl Eq 10.97 -0.27 -8.5
LargeCapValue12.30 -0.48 -10.2
Del Invest Instl
Value 19.62 -0.70 -12.5
Dimensional Fds
5GlbFxdInc 10.83 ... 0.9
DFARlEst 40.89 -0.91 -0.1
EmgMktVa 25.03 -0.47 -12.8
EmMktCorEq 19.73 -0.35 -9.4
IntlCoreEq 12.23 -0.31 -11.4
IntSmCo 16.41 -0.45 -13.2
IntSmVa 16.37 -0.47 -15.4
LgCo 23.27 -0.81 -6.1
TAUSCoreEq218.22 -0.69 -9.7
US CoreEq1 23.60 -0.87 -9.0Net YTD
Fund NAV Chg % Ret
US CoreEq2 21.36 -0.80 -9.8
US Small 29.99 -1.22 -14.4
US SmCpVal 27.92 -1.30 -18.9
US TgdVal 18.88 -0.88 -18.6
USLgVa 33.34 -1.40 -13.8
Dodge & Cox
Balanced 94.22 -2.47 -7.3
Income 14.47 +0.03 3.1
Intl Stk 37.78 -1.12 -13.3
Stock 170.08 -6.94 -12.2
DoubleLine Funds
CoreFxdIncmI NA ... NA
TotRetBdI NA ... NA
Edgewood Growth Instituti
EdgewoodGrInst38.31 -1.11 -0.5
Fidelity
500IdxInstPrem105.21 -3.68 -6.1
Contrafund K614.16 -0.44 -2.1
ExtMktIdxInstPre59.89 -2.03 -8.0
IntlIdxInstPrem39.05 -0.88 -9.1
MidCpInxInstPrem21.72 -0.74 -8.1
SAIUSLgCpIndxFd16.23 -0.57 -6.1
SmCpIdxInstPrem18.68 -0.66 -11.2
TMktIdxInstPrem84.80 -2.94 -6.4
USBdIdxInstPrem12.43 +0.06 4.8Net YTD
Fund NAV Chg % RetThursday, March 5, 2020Top 250 mutual-funds listings for Nasdaq-published share classes by net assets.
e-Ex-distribution.f-Previous day’s quotation.g-Footnotes x and s apply.j-Footnotes e and s
apply.k-Recalculated by Lipper, using updated data.p-Distribution costs apply, 12b-1.r-
Redemption charge may apply.s-Stock split or dividend.t-Footnotes p and r apply.v-Footnotes
x and e apply.x-Ex-dividend.z-Footnote x, e and s apply.NA-Not available due to incomplete
price, performance or cost data.NE-Not released by Lipper; data under review.NN-Fund not
tracked.NS-Fund didn’t exist at start of period.Mutual Funds
Fidelity Advisor I
NwInsghtI 31.30 -1.02 -4.3
Fidelity Freedom
FF2020 15.78 -0.20 -2.7
FF2025 13.84 -0.20 -3.4
FF2030 17.05 -0.30 -4.4
Freedom2020 K15.76 -0.20 -2.7
Freedom2025 K13.82 -0.20 -3.4
Freedom2030 K17.03 -0.30 -4.3
Freedom2035 K14.15 -0.32 -6.1
Freedom2040 K 9.85 -0.24 -6.9
Fidelity Invest
Balanc 23.98 -0.53 -2.5
BluCh 106.62 -3.33 -1.0
Contra 13.33 -0.42 -2.1
ContraK 13.35 -0.42 -2.1
CpInc r 9.87 -0.13 -3.1
GroCo 21.35 -0.64 ...
GrowCoK 21.38 -0.65 ...
InvGrBd 12.02 +0.04 4.4
LowP r 43.90 -1.40 -12.3
Magin 10.08 -0.33 -1.2
OTC 12.53 -0.37 -2.0
Puritn 22.44 -0.48 -1.4
SrsEmrgMkt 19.18 -0.34 -7.0
SrsGlobal 12.04 -0.26 -8.6
SrsGroCoRetail17.80 -0.54 0.3
SrsIntlGrw 16.61 -0.47 -5.2
SrsIntlVal 8.74 -0.24 -11.7
TotalBond 11.28 +0.03 3.9
Fidelity SAI
TotalBd 10.85 +0.02 3.9
First Eagle Funds
GlbA 53.55 -1.00 -7.6
FPA Funds
FPACres 31.81 -0.77 -6.0
Franklin A1
CA TF A1 p 7.92 ... 4.1
IncomeA1 p NA ... NAFrankTemp/Frank Adv
IncomeAdv NA ... NA
FrankTemp/Franklin A
Growth A p 107.82 -3.75 -3.9
RisDv A p 64.87 -2.21 -6.8
FrankTemp/Franklin C
Income C t NA ... NA
FrankTemp/Temp Adv
GlBondAdv p10.52 +0.02 -0.5
Guggenheim Funds Tru
TotRtnBdFdClInst28.18 +0.03 4.3
Harbor Funds
CapApInst 75.79 -2.55 0.1
Harding Loevner
IntlEq NA ... NA
Invesco Funds A
EqIncA 9.54 -0.21 -7.3
Invesco Funds Y
DevMktY 42.23 -0.75 -7.4
JPMorgan I Class
EqInc 17.69 -0.59 -8.7
JPMorgan R Class
CoreBond 12.38 +0.07 5.0
CorePlusBd 8.79 +0.03 4.5
Lord Abbett A
ShtDurIncmA p 4.24 ... 1.3
Lord Abbett F
ShtDurIncm 4.24 ... 1.3
Lord Abbett I
ShtDurInc p 4.24 ... 1.3
Metropolitan West
TotRetBdI 11.39 +0.02 4.6
TRBdPlan 10.71 +0.02 4.5
MFS Funds Class I
ValueI 40.82 -1.58 -8.6
MFS Funds Instl
IntlEq 25.85 -0.65 -7.2
Nuveen Cl I
HYMunBd NA ... NAOakmark Funds Invest
OakmrkInt 20.50 -0.93 -17.8
Old Westbury Fds
LrgCpStr 14.13 -0.38 -6.2
Parnassus Fds
ParnEqFd 44.59 -1.35 -5.2
PGIM Funds Cl Z
TotalReturnBond NA ... NA
PIMCO Fds Instl
AllAsset NA ... NA
TotRt 10.79 +0.04 4.9
PIMCO Funds A
IncomeFd NA ... NA
PIMCO Funds I2
Income NA ... NA
PIMCO Funds Instl
IncomeFd NA ... NA
Price Funds
BlChip 121.51 -4.14 -2.3
DivGro 50.36 -1.71 -5.6
EqInc 28.18 -1.07 -12.2
EqIndex 80.58 -2.81 -6.1
Growth 71.61 -2.46 -2.4
HelSci 79.32 -1.90 -2.6
InstlCapG 43.04 -1.45 -2.3
IntlStk 17.34 -0.31 -7.0
MidCap 88.16 -2.97 -7.5
N Inc 10.02 +0.01 3.7
NHoriz 61.63 -1.19 3.8
OverS SF r 10.08 -0.25 -9.9
R2020 21.47 -0.35 -2.8
R2025 17.14 -0.33 -3.6
R2030 24.78 -0.54 -4.3
R2035 18.09 -0.43 -4.9
R2040 25.58 -0.66 -5.5
Value 34.32 -1.35 -9.5
PRIMECAP Odyssey Fds
AggGrowth r 41.34 -1.43 -7.9Growth r 36.77 -1.34 -10.2
Stock r 30.29 -1.17 -12.2
Putnam Funds Class A
StDurInc 10.06 ... 0.4
Schwab Funds
1000 Inv r 66.85 -2.32 -6.0
S&P Sel 46.39 -1.62 -6.1
TSM Sel r 52.38 -1.82 -6.4
TIAA/CREF Funds
BdIdxInst 11.59 +0.06 4.8
VANGUARD ADMIRAL
500Adml 280.01 -9.77 -6.1
BalAdml 38.53 -0.71 -1.8
CAITAdml 12.35 ... 2.6
CapOpAdml r145.56 -5.22 -7.7
DivAppIdxAdm32.13 -1.06 -5.1
EMAdmr 34.22 -0.53 -7.4
EqIncAdml 72.76 -2.30 -8.5
ExplrAdml 88.99 -2.89 -8.5
ExtndAdml 87.98 -2.98 -8.0
GNMAAdml 10.69 +0.01 1.8
GrwthAdml 92.61 -3.20 -1.3
HlthCareAdml r85.38 -1.59 -2.8
HYCorAdml r 5.91 -0.03 ...
InfProAd 27.08 +0.11 4.6
IntlGrAdml 99.36 -1.98 -3.3
ITBondAdml 12.47 +0.07 6.1
ITIGradeAdml10.46 +0.03 4.6
LTGradeAdml 11.96 +0.16 9.9
MidCpAdml 204.76 -6.79 -7.2
MuHYAdml 12.07 -0.02 3.4
MuIntAdml 14.80 ... 2.7
MuLTAdml 12.26 ... 3.6
MuLtdAdml 11.20 +0.01 1.4
MuShtAdml 15.91 ... 0.6
PrmcpAdml r131.81 -4.79 -8.6
RealEstatAdml130.68 -3.05 -0.7
SmCapAdml 71.14 -2.59 -10.4
SmGthAdml 65.19 -1.95 -6.7STBondAdml 10.82 +0.02 2.7
STIGradeAdml10.92 +0.01 2.2
TotBdAdml 11.54 +0.06 4.9
TotIntBdIdxAdm23.29 +0.05 3.1
TotIntlAdmIdx r27.23 -0.55 -8.8
TotStAdml 74.66 -2.59 -6.3
TxMCapAdml156.31 -5.45 -5.8
TxMIn r 12.84 -0.28 -9.2
USGroAdml 112.14 -3.61 0.7
ValAdml 42.11 -1.44 -10.0
WdsrllAdml 58.95 -2.19 -8.7
WellsIAdml 66.63 -0.45 0.7
WelltnAdml 72.62 -1.36 -3.1
WndsrAdml 63.38 -2.49 -12.3
VANGUARD FDS
DivdGro 29.00 -0.97 -5.1
INSTTRF202023.67 -0.30 -1.8
INSTTRF202524.06 -0.38 -2.7
INSTTRF203024.22 -0.44 -3.6
INSTTRF203524.36 -0.50 -4.5
INSTTRF204024.51 -0.56 -5.3
INSTTRF204524.58 -0.62 -6.1
INSTTRF205024.62 -0.62 -6.1
IntlVal 33.58 -0.83 -10.5
LifeCon 20.96 -0.18 -0.3
LifeGro 34.33 -0.76 -5.0
LifeMod 28.09 -0.43 -2.7
PrmcpCor 25.03 -0.94 -10.4
STAR 26.63 -0.47 -2.6
TgtRe2015 15.13 -0.13 -0.3
TgtRe2020 31.94 -0.41 -1.8
TgtRe2025 19.30 -0.30 -2.7
TgtRe2030 35.15 -0.63 -3.6
TgtRe2035 21.52 -0.44 -4.4
TgtRe2040 37.05 -0.85 -5.3
TgtRe2045 23.19 -0.59 -6.1
TgtRe2050 37.33 -0.95 -6.1
TgtRet2055 40.54 -1.03 -6.1TgtRetInc 14.09 -0.09 0.3
TotIntBdIxInv 11.65 +0.03 3.2
WellsI 27.50 -0.19 0.7
Welltn 42.05 -0.79 -3.1
WndsrII 33.22 -1.24 -8.8
VANGUARD INDEX FDS
MdCpVlAdml 55.22 -2.03 -10.6
SmValAdml 51.01 -2.15 -13.4
TotBd2 11.50 +0.06 4.9
TotIntl 16.28 -0.33 -8.8
TotSt 74.63 -2.58 -6.3
VANGUARD INSTL FDS
BalInst 38.53 -0.72 -1.8
DevMktsIndInst12.86 -0.28 -9.2
DevMktsInxInst20.10 -0.44 -9.2
ExtndInst 87.98 -2.97 -8.0
GrwthInst 92.62 -3.19 -1.3
InPrSeIn 11.03 +0.04 4.6
InstIdx 272.58 -9.50 -6.1
InstPlus 272.60 -9.51 -6.1
InstTStPlus 64.33 -2.22 -6.3
MidCpInst 45.23 -1.50 -7.2
MidCpIstPl 223.08 -7.40 -7.2
RealEstaInstl 20.23 -0.47 -0.7
SmCapInst 71.14 -2.59 -10.4
STIGradeInst 10.92 +0.01 2.2
STIPSIxins 25.04 +0.01 1.4
TotBdInst 11.54 +0.06 4.9
TotBdInst2 11.50 +0.06 4.9
TotBdInstPl 11.54 +0.06 4.9
TotIntBdIdxInst34.95 +0.08 3.1
TotIntlInstIdx r108.90 -2.22 -8.8
TotItlInstPlId r108.93 -2.21 -8.8
TotStInst 74.68 -2.58 -6.3
ValueInst 42.10 -1.45 -10.0
WCM Focus Funds
WCMFocIntlGrwIns18.26 -0.50 -3.4
Western Asset
CorePlusBdI NA ... NANet YTD
Fund NAV Chg % RetNet YTD
Fund NAV Chg % RetNet YTD
Fund NAV Chg % RetNet YTD
Fund NAV Chg % RetNet YTD
Fund NAV Chg % RetNet YTD
Data provided by Fund NAV Chg % RetPARIS—The Mona Lisa’s
daily crowd of admirers has
thinned.
The long line to get into St.
Peter’s Basilica in Rome is
gone.
The coronavirus outbreak in
Europe is scaring away travel-
ers and hammering tourism
just as the high season is get-
ting under way.
Thousands of people have
canceled their trips to the re-
gion since the disease began to
spread in Italy last month, dry-
ing up revenue for hotels, res-
taurants, nightclubs and confer-
ence planners across the
continent. Those businesses are
the economic lifeblood of many
regions in Europe, clustered
around its famed cultural at-
tractions. The outbreak is cost-
ing the European Union’s tour-
ism industry €1 billion ($1.1
billion) a month, said Thierry
Breton, the EU’s internal mar-
ket commissioner.
“It gets worse and worse.
The cancellations are piling
up,” said Franck Trouet,
spokesman for France’s Group
of Independent Hoteliers and
Restaurateurs. A third of its
members have seen their reve-
nue fall in February compared
with a year ago, when business
was already suffering because
of the yellow-vest protests in
France. In Paris, some cafes and
nightclubs have seen a 40%
drop in sales, he said.
Authorities around the
world have told people not to
travel to northern Italy, the site
of Europe’s largest outbreak.
That warning, however, is hav-
ing a ripple effect far beyond
the canals of Venice.
“The damage this is causing
has the potential to be way out
of proportion to the threat
posed by the virus,” says Tom
Jenkins, chief executive of
ETOA, which represents Euro-
pean tour operators.
The outbreak comes at a par-
ticularly bad time for the indus-
try: The start of the period
when people book their spring
and summer travel plans. That
includes pilgrims coming to the
Vatican for Holy Week leading
up to Easter, and tourists from
the U.S. and Asia coming to the
continent over the summer.
Flight bookings to Europe
the last week of February, when
the Italian outbreak emerged,
fell 79% from the same period a
year earlier, according to For-
wardKeys, which tracks travel
data. In Italy, cancellations have
exceeded new bookings over
that time, the firm said.BYMATTHEWDALTONEuropean
Tourism
Drops Off
Sharply
ers,” Mr. Anderson said. “The
animals still have to eat.”
Snarled logistics have also
caused headaches for the na-
tion’s biggest meatpackers,
who in recent weeks have jock-
eyed for space on outbound
vessels, temporarily diverted
China-bound shipments to
nearby countries and dealt
with domestic cold-storage fa-
cilities stuffed with unshipped
pork, chicken and beef.
There are signs that broader
trade flows could start to pick
up: Chinese factories are re-
suming production as the
spread of the virus abates inthat country, and port conges-
tion is easing. Meat and citrus
groups say Chinese demand for
their products remains strong,
especially as trade tensions
ease between the U.S. and
China. But it will be weeks be-
fore the full impact on U.S. fac-
tories and farms is clear.
There are thousands of
empty shipping containers for
goods that don’t require refrig-
eration waiting to be shippedA record two million
containers of
seaborne shipping
capacity was idled.BUSINESS NEWS
AirlinebookingstoItalyand
Europe,changefromprevious
yearSource: ForwardKeysNotes: A drop of more than 100% indicates
cancellations exceed new bookings; data are
through Feb. 29.50–250–200–150–100–500%Jan. Feb.Italy EuropeFirst confirmed
case in ItalyThe drop in port volumes
could also further depress
shipping rates for truckload
carriers that move goods long
distances. Last year truckers
were buffeted by weak demand
as industrial growth faltered.
Typically demand ticks up in
the coming weeks, as the Cali-
fornia produce season and nor-
mal port activity create oppor-
tunities for truckers to raise
rates, said Jeff Tucker, chief
executive of Haddonfield, N.J.-
based freight broker Tucker
Company Worldwide Inc.
Similar distortions are hit-
ting the transportation busi-
ness in China, where travel re-
strictions have kept half of
China’s 30 million truck drivers
off the road.
Transporting a shipping
container 1,000 miles by road
from Chongqing to Shanghai
normally costs around $1,500;
now, if you can find a truck, it
will cost you $3,000, said Robin
Zheng, the owner of Chong-
qing-based Circle Logistics.
For the agricultural indus-
try, the shipping difficulties
come on the heels of a trade
war that hit U.S. farmers hard,
slashing U.S. exports of farm
goods to China and sapping
prices farmers fetch for their
products. China in 2018 im-
posed retaliatory tariffs on U.S.
agricultural products including
oranges, reducing shipments
while citrus from Egypt and
Spain gained a stronger foot-
hold in China.
On Wednesday, Mr. Dovolis,
the California exporter, told a
packing house to hold off pack-
ing oranges because it was un-
clear whether he had enough
containers to collect the fruit
for transport.
Fruit that doesn’t make it
onto boats bound for overseas
markets in time can wind up
selling at a loss in the domestic
market, according to Casey
Creamer, chief of California
Citrus Mutual, a trade group
for the state’s citrus growers.
—Costas Paris, Trefor Moss
and Paul Ziobro
contributed to this article.back to China. “Right now,
we’ve got to get a lot of emp-
ties and some backlogged ex-
ports out the door to Asia,”
said Gene Seroka, executive
director of the Port of Los An-
geles.
Mr. Upchurch, of Kansas
City Southern, said manufac-
turing data coming out of
China has started to improve,
and his company hasn’t seen
any cargo declines at the Pan-
ama Canal, where it has a rail-
way linking the Pacific and At-
lantic oceans.
Executives at Union Pacific
Corp., one of two major U.S.
railroads that serve West Coast
ports, said the production de-
lays in China are just starting
to dent shipping volumes. First
quarter volumes will suffer but
the railroad is anticipating a
snap back once imports from
Asia resume.
In the U.S., the gridlock is
cutting business for port truck-
ers, the companies that move
goods between ports, ware-
houses and rail terminals. Con-
tainer terminals at the ports of
Los Angeles and Long Beach,
which together are the largest
U.S. gateway for seaborne
trade, are operating at about a
third of their normal gate ca-
pacity, according to the Harbor
Trucking Association, a Long
Beach, Calif., group that repre-
sents port trucking companies.
It is taking drivers as long
as six hours, instead of two
hours, to drop off or pick up
containers, said Claudia Geller,
the Southern California re-
gional manager for Pacific
Coast Container Inc., known as
PCC Logistics, a transportation
and warehousing provider with
facilities in Seattle, Tacoma,
Wash., Oakland and Long
Beach.
Her company has been stuck
for weeks with loaded refriger-
ated containers, which are typi-
cally dropped the same or next
day. The company has had one
container of frozen meat since
Feb. 14, Ms. Geller said, and the
receiving date has been pushed
back to March 12.Stobart Air were grounded
early Thursday, stranding pas-
sengers.
Virgin, which is 49% owned
by Delta Air Lines Inc., said it
was looking at options to sup-
port the airline’s roughly
2,400 staff. Last year, Flybe
accounted for about 38% of
U.K. domestic flights, accord-
ing to the European Regions
Airline Association. It had op-
erated 139 routes, serving
eight countries from 56 air-
ports. It is a big player in
some of Britain’s second-tiercities, like Manchester and
Birmingham, in England, and
Aberdeen, Scotland.
Airlines around the world
have been hammered by the
virus outbreak. Travelers are
canceling flights and not book-
ing new ones. Several large
companies, including Nestlé
SA, are forbidding staff to em-
bark on business travel, one of
the biggest profit drivers for
the industry.
The International Air
Transport Association forecast
Thursday that the virus couldreduce passenger revenue
world-wide by between $63
billion and $113 billion this
year—a dramatic step up from
the trade group’s last esti-
mate, in February, of just un-
der $30 billion.
Until recently, most of the
industry carnage was con-
tained in China, the epicenter
of the virus outbreak. Airlines
have grounded planes and
taken draconian cost-cutting
measures. Cathay Pacific Air-
ways Ltd., Hong Kong’s flag
carrier, has required all staffto take three weeks’ unpaid
leave.
The pain has now spilled
over into Europe and is wash-
ing up on U.S. shores, too.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Ger-
many’s flagship, announced a
total of 7,100 European flight
cancellations for the month of
March. Norwegian Air Shuttle
ASA, the budget trans-Atlantic
carrier, said Thursday it was
canceling 22 flights between
Europe and the U.S.
Flight bookings to Europe
fell 79% compared with the
same period a year earlier, ac-
cording to ForwardKeys, which
tracks travel data.
“We’ve taken a big hit,”
said Michael O’Leary, chief ex-
ecutive of Ryanair Holdings
PLC, the Dublin-based budget
carrier, speaking at an indus-
try conference in Brussels this
week. “What I foresee is very
deflated bookings for the next
2-3 weeks.” Beyond that, he
said, bookings will depend on
how the virus spreads.
Punctuating the geographic
spread of the industry pres-
sure, United Airlines Holdings
Inc., which has already slashed
international flights, said late
Wednesday it would cut do-
mestic flights, too.
HNA Group Co., the owner
of Chinese carrier Hainan Air-
lines, is another victim of the
epidemic, though so far has
managed to keep its airline
flying. The group asked for a
government takeover.
—Daniel Michaels in Brussels
contributed to this article.The coronavirus outbreak
claimed U.K. regional airline
carrierFlybe, which entered
bankruptcy administration
and forced the cancellation of
dozens of flights across the
country.
The carrier, owned by a
consortium including Britain’s
Virgin Atlantic, has struggled
financially for months—long
before the widespread emer-
gence of the virus outbreak.
Its shareholders infused cash
into it as recently as January,
and the British government
agreed to extend the payment
of air-passenger taxes to help
lessen strain.
But a bigger, hoped-for gov-
ernment rescue package didn’t
materialize, and a recent vi-
rus-related plunge in bookings
forced Flybe’s owners to balk
at putting any more money in.
A spokesman for Virgin said,
“the impact of Covid-19 on
Flybe’s trading means that the
consortium can no longer
commit to continued financial
support.”
All flights by Flybe—which
flies mostly regional routes
across the U.K., including to
many of its less well-served
regions—and sister carrier
BYIANWALKER
ANDTREFORMOSS
Outbreak Crisis Bankrupts Airline
British regional carrier
Flybe grounds flights,
enters protection as
bookings plunge
The carrier’s check-in area at Birmingham International Airport was closed on Thursday.JACOB KING/PA WIRE/ZUMA PRESSOakland, have waited in line
there for empty refrigerated
containers for up to four hours.
By the time the drivers reach
the shipping terminal, they
sometimes then discover all
the containers are gone.
“The lines are so long it
looks like theL.A. freeway,”
said Carleton Booker, the com-
pany’s director of sales and op-
erations.
China’s quarantines and
travel restrictions introduced
in January have delayed the re-
opening of many factories after
the Lunar New Year holiday,
disrupted transportation
within the country and
strained supply chains.
That has backed up cargo at
terminals and warehouses at
big gateways including Shang-
hai, Tianjin and Ningbo.
A record two million con-
tainers of seaborne shipping
capacity was idled in late Feb-
ruary, according to Alphaliner,
a Paris-based marine data pro-
vider. That is more than the 1.5
million containers of capacity
idled in 2009 at the height of
the financial crisis.
“There are a lot of ships
that aren’t moving right now,”
Michael Upchurch, the chief fi-
nancial officer of U.S. railroad
operator Kansas City Southern,
told a conference on Monday.
The number of idled con-
tainer ships in the Pacific re-
gion has reached 370, com-
pared with about 230 at the
beginning of the year, accord-
ing to Jonathan Roach, an ana-
lyst at Braemar ACM Ship-
broking. He said that, in
addition to canceled sailings
due to trade disruptions, about
100 of the ships were pulled
out of service to retrofit ex-
Continued from page B1
Shipping,
Exports
Are Snarled
For farmers, transport difficulties follow on a harmful trade war.WATCHARA PHOMICINDA/ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER/ZUMA PRESS