General Economic Situation Q3, 2004 - Upturn continues. Further growth in tourism and shipping.
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General economic situation
The world economy continued to recover, although the momentum of the first half of the year slowed down. With the decreasing economic and fiscal stimuli and the strong rise in the oil price, economic expansion is expected to show more moderate growth in the foreseeable future compared with the pace recorded at the beginning of the year.
Regional development
Growth rates in the key industrialised countries seem to have topped out in the summer. The US and Japan, in particular, recorded a slowdown in GDP growth. The Asian region continued to record brisk economic activities. In the European Union, production continued to grow virtually unabated, although the development of business activity was curbed by the increase in the oil price.
Development of the divisions
Tourism recorded a good third quarter and thus saw a confirmation of the positive trend of the first half of the year. The overall more buoyant economic and political environment benefited in particular the markets that had been most adversely affected in the previous year. The business trend continued to show regional variations; however, volumes rose overall and price levels improved year-on-year.
In the logistics division, container shipping continued the positive trend of the first half of the year. Transport volumes continued to rise on previous quarter's figures, while freight rates remained at a high level. This was essentially attributable to the positive state of the economy in the US and persistently strong growth in the Asian region.