Spare a thought for the poor shipping container, responsible for most of the world's trade. It's had a rough year that started with the gargantuan Ever Given getting stuck in the Suez Canal.

Now the Suez traffic jam has gone global.

When the pandemic started, everyone needed COVID supplies from China. Chinese factories couldn't keep up with soaring demand from Western nations, and empty containers started to pile up in faraway ports.

Sending one of these ships from Shanghai to Los Angeles has jumped more than ten-fold from $2,000 to $25,000.

And as demand increases even more, the problem is getting worse — a vicious cycle with no end in sight just as the holidays approach.

Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: Inflation nation: What's driving US prices higher?

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