A Day In The Life Of Global Trade
Bloomberg Markets|February - March 2020
Viewed from a desk on wall street, trade can look like an inaccessible agglomeration of breathless headlines about escalating economic wars and sterile data. Yet up close, the buying and selling of goods and services is an astonishing organism: Here, geopolitical decisions and the markets’ responses to them have daily physical consequences. ¶ To capture an ordinary day during this extraordinary period in the history of the global economy, Bloomberg Markets deployed reporters across the world to see the inner workings of trade up close. From storefronts in Seoul and Tokyo to border crossings in Africa and the Middle East, Wednesday, Dec. 4, was ostensibly a day like any other. What the reporters saw were the nuts and bolts of a global economy that—whether because of the march of technology or the consequences of rising protectionism and shifting trade patterns—is confronting an inevitable and possibly irreversible wave of change.
Shawn Donnan
A Day In The Life Of Global Trade

Lock 27, Mississippi River

It’s 10:36 a.m., and under a bright blue sky, the tugboat Donna Rushing is nudging a 15-barge load into the busiest lock on the Mississippi River. The St. Louis-based tug and her twin diesels are pushing a motley haul of soybeans, steel slag, and benzene. The linked convoy is 1,140 feet long and 105 feet wide, or the equivalent of a quarter-mile stretch of interstate that spans nine lanes and holds 870 truckloads of cargo. The lock, in Granite City, Ill., is just 5 feet wider than the barges. Delicate stuff.

Observing this from Lock 27’s control room is Quentin Pearson, a 61-year-old U.S. Navy veteran. Darting back and forth, he reaches for his radio to give instructions to a pair of tugs waiting to go north after the Donna Rushing’s load, heading south, is safely through. Then he rushes back over to the computers that control the lock’s valves and gates. From there, he’ll lower the water level by 7 feet, sending the Donna Rushing on its way to St. Louis.

Once the tug and its convoy are safely in the lock’s main basin, the captain’s voice comes across on Pearson’s radio: “We’re tied off.” With a click of Pearson’s mouse, valves open, and water rushes out of the lock’s chamber. By 10:58 a.m., the downstream gates have opened, and the Donna Rushing and her load are creeping out of the lock. This 22-minute sequence will be repeated more than two dozen times today at Lock 27, through which more than 65 million tons of cargo pass each year.

“Roads and railroads are the veins of America. But the rivers are the arteries, still, of America,” says Jermey Garzia, Lock 27’s lockmaster. A single barge carries 1,500 tons, or the equivalent of 58 tractor-trailers. A 15-barge tow like the one the Donna Rushing is shepherding carries the equivalent of two 100-car trains. —S.D.

This story is from the February - March 2020 edition of Bloomberg Markets.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February - March 2020 edition of Bloomberg Markets.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BLOOMBERG MARKETSView All
See Which Countries Are Falling Behind On Climate Change
Bloomberg Markets

See Which Countries Are Falling Behind On Climate Change

Under the Paris Agreement, 190 countries and the European Union pledged to take steps to hold the global temperature rise to less than 2C (3.6F) from preindustrial levels—and preferably 1.5C.

time-read
4 mins  |
October - November 2021
Billionaires Vie for the Future of Brazilian Finance
Bloomberg Markets

Billionaires Vie for the Future of Brazilian Finance

An escalating battle between two billionaires is upending the financial community in São Paulo, Latin America’s wealthiest city.

time-read
8 mins  |
October - November 2021
Ford Foundation's Darren Walker: ‘We Have to Get Uncomfortable'
Bloomberg Markets

Ford Foundation's Darren Walker: ‘We Have to Get Uncomfortable'

DARREN WALKER, 62, disrupted his Wall Street life more than 25 years ago when he left what is now UBS Group AG to volunteer at a school and eventually pursue a career in community development and philanthropy. Since 2013 he’s been at the pinnacle of the philanthropic world as president of the Ford Foundation, created by the family of automaker Henry Ford during the Great Depression to advance human welfare.

time-read
8 mins  |
October - November 2021
Fueling the Ener Transition
Bloomberg Markets

Fueling the Ener Transition

I MAY BE BIASED, but some of the most important research and data on the Bloomberg terminal lies in one of its lesser-known functions: {BNEF }

time-read
1 min  |
October - November 2021
Dig Into Analysts' Estimates for Disruptive Companies
Bloomberg Markets

Dig Into Analysts' Estimates for Disruptive Companies

THE PANDEMIC ERA generated a whole wave of disruptive companies as it accelerated the introduction of new products and services in areas including artificial intelligence, digitization, electronic payments, online meeting platforms, and virtual currencies.

time-read
4 mins  |
October - November 2021
Climate Risks Come for Sovereign Credit
Bloomberg Markets

Climate Risks Come for Sovereign Credit

FOR YEARS climate scientists have warned about the ferocious wildfires and hurricanes that are now overwhelming many communities. Today alarms are ringing about a related financial danger: risks lurking within government bonds, the biggest part of the global debt market.

time-read
7 mins  |
October - November 2021
Responsible-Investing Pioneer Lydenberg Says ESG Needs An Upgrade
Bloomberg Markets

Responsible-Investing Pioneer Lydenberg Says ESG Needs An Upgrade

STEVE LYDENBERG’S passion for social change was inspired by anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, consumer boycotts, and the movement to divest from apartheid South Africa. But he didn’t take to the streets. Instead, Lydenberg turned to the world of finance to help catalyze societal change.

time-read
8 mins  |
October - November 2021
Engine No. 1's Grancio: ‘People Will Appreciate an Economic Argument'
Bloomberg Markets

Engine No. 1's Grancio: ‘People Will Appreciate an Economic Argument'

ENGINE NO. 1 sent shock waves across corporate America in May when the fledgling investment firm won a boardroom battle with Exxon Mobil Corp., securing three seats on the oil and gas giant’s board after purchasing only about $40 million of its stock.

time-read
6 mins  |
October - November 2021
Find Out Which Companies May Ramp Up Payouts After Covid
Bloomberg Markets

Find Out Which Companies May Ramp Up Payouts After Covid

AS THE PANDEMIC DISRUPTED business last year, many companies cut or suspended dividends. Which will boost their payouts when economies pick up again?

time-read
2 mins  |
October - November 2021
Get Into the Minds of Central Bankers as They Navigate Shocks
Bloomberg Markets

Get Into the Minds of Central Bankers as They Navigate Shocks

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED how central bankers forecast the impact of shocks on the economy?

time-read
4 mins  |
October - November 2021