Cargo handling through Singapore’s ports fell 2% on a year earlier in May, the second drop after 20 months of growth. A slowdown in containerized freight growth (6% from 7%) and a sixth straight decline in oil handling were the culprits. Worse may lie ahead if Singapore’s status as a transshipment hub – 57% of containerized freight sent to the U.S. originates outside Singapore – continues to contract. The start of direct Indonesia-U.S. services and a putative China-U.S. tariff battle may precipitate that decline.