As Ebola persists in West Africa, shipping lines and traders are tweaking their contracts to protect themselves if the disease puts crews at risk of infection or prevents vessels calling at affected ports.

Despite high hopes for Arctic business from mining to shipping as the ice melts rapidly and temperatures rise twice as fast as the global average, few firms say the sums still make sense.

Nik Delmeire, the newly appointed secretary general of the European Shippers' Council (ESC), has said it is time for businesses to measure, monitor and reduce emissions by freight transport. At the same time, the new European Commission should reduce existing trade barriers in the European Union. "Together these innovations can spur economic growth and create jobs," says Delmeire.

The manufacturing sector, already a leading component of the U.S. economy, would benefit significantly if the crude oil ban were lifted, according to a new study.

Carriers can still make money despite falling freight rates, according to Drewry's latest Container Annual Review & Forecast 2014/15. Surprisingly, some medium-sized lines retain unit cost advantages.

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk said it would invest billions of dollars in new ships, reap hundreds of millions in savings and announced valuable contracts for its drilling rigs.