一、請將以下文章翻譯成中文:(25%)
Shocks to supply chains are engulfing a wider swath of the global economy as
the pandemic rages on, threatening to stifle Asia’s trade-led recovery just as soaring
freight rates make it harder for businesses to weather another year like 2020. Shortages of consumer goods like paper towels and work-from-home gear early
in the COVID-19 crisis have given way to parts shortfalls in one of the most globally
integrated of industries: auto manufacturing.
Compounding the industrial imbalances are transport woes plaguing consumer
and healthcare sectors still dealing with a dearth of available shipping containers to
move components and finished products out of China, Taiwan, South Korea and Asia’s
other export powers.
Nerijus Poskus (奈瑞尤斯‧帕司克斯), vice president for global ocean at San
Francisco-based freight forwarder Flexport Inc (飛協博), reckons the world needs the
equivalent of 500,000 more 20-foot containers — roughly enough to fill 25 of the
largest ships in operation — to satisfy the current demand. In the meantime, standard
container rates on transpacific routes are quadruple what they were a year ago. And that
is before equipment surcharges and premiums for guaranteed loading are added.
“Anyone paying the freight bills in 2020 though knows the true cost of shipping
is much higher than even the recently increased rates,” Poskus (帕司克斯) said. “We
expect that to only increase in 2021.”
The unstoppable rise in container shipping costs is borne out by December figures
recently announced by Taiwan’s three major shipping companies — Evergreen Marine
Corp, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp and Wan Hai Lines Ltd — which saw a
record-breaking year-on-year surge of revenue at 58.8 percent, 35.19 percent and 75.71
percent respectively.