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The Container Ship That Broke Global Supply Chains
Description
In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the single most disruptive event in modern global trade: the grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal in March 2021. They trace how one massive container ship held up $9.6 billion in daily trade, exposed the fragility of just-in-time manufacturing, and permanently reshaped how companies think about supply chain resilience. Lucas breaks down the economics of the blockage, the role of container shipping consolidation, and the surprising aftermath that continues to affect freight rates and inventory strategies in 2026. Luna questions whether the response—reshoring and near-shoring—has actually made supply chains more robust or just differently fragile. They close by considering what the Ever Given episode reveals about the hidden infrastructure of globalization.