Please see the below article from EPIC Investment Partners detailing their discussions on the current geopolitical landscape. Received this morning 12/05/2026.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz remains an ongoing issue for the global economy. China’s factory prices grew at the fastest pace since the COVID pandemic with April producer prices rising 2.8% y-o-y in April, much higher than market expectations.
Supply chains are changing rapidly and are unlikely to return to normal. Gulftainer, based in the United Arab Emirates, is the manager of a number of container terminals in the Middle East. This includes the Khor Fakkan port that sits just outside the Strait of Hormuz, facing the Gulf of Oman. Shipments through Khor Fakkan has climbed from roughly 2,000 containers a week prior to the conflict to 50,000 a week today. About 7,000 trucks enter and exit the port each day compared to just a few hundred prior to the conflict. CEO Farid Belbouab makes the important point that the shippers, shipowners, and importers are focussed on reliable delivery dates regardless of the higher cost or longer transit times.
Another example is Iran ramping up trade with China via railway shipments in a bid to blunt the impact of a US blockade of its ports and adapt to pressure designed to strangle its economy. The number of cargo trains going from Xi’an in central China to the Iranian capital Tehran has risen from around one per week before the conflict to one every three or four days since the start of blockade on April 13.
Certainty is invaluable even if it means higher prices.
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Alex Clare
12/05/2026