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Disease Outbreak Hurts the Shipping and Toy Industries; Two Tunnels Cut Through Mountains and Travel Time; Visit to an Asian Hotel`s "Jungle Bubble"
Aired February 21, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz and there are two points I`d like to make about Fridays. One they`re awesome. Two, who
cares. It`s the last day of the work and school week and we are thankful to be sharing it with you. Our show starts with a logo. There`s a good
chance that you`ve seen this one before whether it`s stacked on a cargo ship or being hauled by a tractor trailer. Maersk is the biggest container
shipping company in the world but the Danish business says demand for shipping has decreased early this year and that it`s had to cancel more
than 50 trips to and from Asia. The reason, the new corona virus that originated in Wuhan, China late last year. As the disease has spread so
has its impact not only on people but on businesses as well with the potential to hurt economies.
Maersk estimates that factories in China are working at 50 to 60 percent of their capacity. This is having ripple effects around the world because so
much commerce is tied into what happens with China. In the shipping industry alone, 80 percent of the things we use everyday are carried over
the ocean and China is home to seven of the worlds 10 busiest container ports. So it`s not just health officials who are concerned about this
virus. The shipping industry and the businesses that depend on it are also hoping this disease would peak and that its spread would start to slow
down. Are there any signs that`s happening? It`s hard to say and hard to predict.
China just announced on Thursday that it recorded the lowest number of daily infections that it`s seen in weeks. But South Korea which is located
just a couple hundred miles from China across the Yellow Sea has reported a spike in cases . The expanding impact is not just at sea and international
trade associations says global airlines could lose a combined total of more than $29 billion because of the corona virus outbreak. Car makers, luxury
good makers, drug companies could all be hit as well as toy manufacturers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey guys. Crazy hair and those layers and layers of packaging. For whatever reason, LOL Surprise is one of the most coveted
toys on the planet but they could be harder to find this holiday season.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s going to be major shortage of LOL come the holidays worldwide because of the corona virus epidemic that we have
frankly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The corona virus outbreak has sparked a health crisis and an economic mess as it exposes major vulnerabilities in the global
supply chain for all the sectors that reach deep into China.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Numerous companies, Apple another one of course impacted here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) warning that the current virus outbreak - -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible) the South Korean commerce as you said that they are suspending production - -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Retailers are also feeling the impact. Anticipating the supply slowdown, Amazon is stockpiling certain made in China products.
In a statement Amazon says, our of an abundance of caution we are working with suppliers to secure additional inventory to insure we maintain our
selection for customers. LOL Surprise dolls are designed by MGA Entertainment in California and made in China. The CEO says before the
outbreak they produced 1 million dolls a day. Now they`re at a standstill as China struggles to get back to work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What people don`t understand is that even if the factories open, they are not able to get all the workers back. And then to
make matters worse what happens is that factories need raw material.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From multinational firms this is not the first time their Asian supply chains have been tested. In 2011 the tsunami and
nuclear disaster in Japan hit the high tech supply chain pushing back the launch of new devices. Later that year, devastating floods in Thailand
rattled the tech and auto industries as production stalled. But the current crisis in China is different given the unprecedented measures in
place to stop the virus and the world`s reliance on China as a manufacturing machine. China accounts for more than 80 percent of all
global toy production. So could the outbreak prompt a rethink about China as the factory of the world?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People were already thinking about their supply chains as a result of the trade war between the U.S. and China. And we`re
thinking about not being dependent so much on just one country but the impact of this is much bigger than the U.S.-China trade war. And if this
goes on for a long time, then companies will have to think about relocating their supply chains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t think frankly any company is going to be able to replace China. China is the factory of the world. We have to accept
it. We have to face it. They`re great at what they do. They - - they - - the quality, the discipline, the infrastructure, the workforce that they
have is going to be years before somebody else can replicate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these mountains is the shortest? Mont Blanc, Denali, K2, or Mount Kilimanjaro. At less than 16,000 feet tall,
Mont Blanc is the shortest on this list and it`s the tallest mountain in Europe.
Mont Blanc is located in the Alps and the Swiss part of the mountain chain is where our next story takes place as engineers there are putting the
finishing touches on a new high speed, high capacity railway. This is part of a project to establish better and faster rail links in the region. The
mountains have always been a major obstacle to that but the scenari (ph) based tunnel cuts right through them. It`s nine and a half miles long. It
will join the remaining mountain section separating northern Europe and northern Italy and it will be a compliment to the Gotthard based tunnel
which opened in 2016.
That passageway is 35 miles long. It took 2,500 people and $11 billion to build and though they don`t offer the same astounding views as the old
mountain route, these tunnels are flatter and less curved which allows heavier freight trains and more of them to travel through the Swiss Alps.
In fact the biggest benefit to these projects will be the freight companies who can now send more goods and commodities in less time through the Alps.
And as far as travelers are concerned, the total trip time between Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy will be shortened from four hours to two and a
half hours.
From the snowy mountains of Europe to the humid jungles of Asia, we`re taking you on a trip that lets people camp out with elephants. Here are
the elephants. Here`s where travelers would be camping. They`re called "jungle bubbles". They`re air conditioned pods with beds and showers and
they give you unbeatable views of the worlds largest land mammals. These aren`t just everyday pachyderms. Some of the elephants have been rescued
from working in harsh conditions but they`re spending a relaxing retirement in a sort of elephant resort that doubles as a human one too.
The price to spend the night in a bubble starts at just over $560 and you`d be in a unique and scenic part of the world. This is located in a place
known as the "Golden Triangle" on the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. And while there`s other stuff to do besides try to sleep with
elephants near by, the animals and the efforts that go into making a better life for them are the main attraction.
Start with a flying suit. Strap a wing on your back. It has four jet engines and you have what`s being called a "jet man suit". Last weekend in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A pilot got off the ground with one and that`s significant because previous jet man flights have launched from
helicopters and elevated platforms. The pilot eventually rose more than 4,900 feet in the air before parachuting back down. Want one? Me too.
But prices of similar jet powered wings have reportedly cost around $150,000 and that would take some serious "bling" and "wing" up quite a tab
for a "wing suit" that might "wing" you a "fascinatwing" view.
But who can "swing" all the "chacwing" just to get on the "wing". You can`t just "wing" it. You might have to "wing" the lottery and it might
leave you "winging" your hands over "spendwing" all your "wingings" like you`re "throwing" a "winging" "wingding". I`m Carl Azuz. Shout out to our
friends in Coeur d`Alene, Idaho where there`s a "Idawhole" lot of Vikings watching today. I don`t personally pick the schools we mention but for
your chance be sure to subscribe and comment on our You Tube channel. Have a great weekend from all of us at CNN.
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