PPI

Little more than 2½ years from now, the global fleet of merchant ships will have to reduce drastically how much sulfur their engines belch into the atmosphere.

U.S. producer prices rose in February more than forecast, while costs increased from a year earlier by the most since March 2012, signaling inflation is picking up, a Labor Department report showed March 14 in Washington.

The global shipping industry has urged the European Union to drop the sector's inclusion in proposals adopted Feb. 15 to reform the bloc's carbon market, saying it risks distorting trade and international efforts to cut the sector's emissions.

The global shipping industry is in the midst of a huge downturn, with weak demand engulfing it for the past few years. Experts acknowledge that the sector’s biggest hurdle is overcapacity, but the wave of mergers and acquisitions means the hard times will pass eventually.