Exporters in Country X are facing lower revenues due to a shortage of the large metal shipping containers in which they send their goods by sea to other countries. Fewer containers arrive in Country X due to reductions in imports. This has meant lost orders, costly delays, and a scramble for alternatives, such as air freight, all of which are costlier. Moreover, the revenues of exporters in Country X will probably continue to decline in the near future. This is because other countries are likely to find it increasingly unprofitable to export their goods to Country X, and because __________. Which of the following would most logically complete the passage? A. production of shipping containers in Country X is growing rapidly as a response to the shortage B. shipping companies are willing to move containers from country to country only when the containers are full C. the cost of shipping alternatives such as air freight is likely to stabilize in the near future D. consumers in Country X are purchasing more products than ever before E. the worldwide demand for goods made in Country X has only recently begun to rise after a long decline CR49551.01 OG2020 NEW QUESTION

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Exporters in Country X are facing lower revenues due to a shortage of

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agrasan

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02 Mar 2025, 23:07

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Hi MartyMurray
Thanks for the detailed answer.
I am a bit confused with the reasoning, it should be companies involved with exporting/importing right? Because in this case, there will be less exports available as consumers are purchasing more from that.
Please confirm this once.

MartyMurray

D. consumers in Country X are purchasing more products than ever before

We can see that the fact that consumers in Country X are purchasing more products does not support the conclusion that the revenues of exporters in Country X will probably continue to decline. After all, consumers purchasing more would not cause revenues to decline.

If (D) included different information, such as that consumers in country X are purchasing a greater proportion of their purchases from companies that are not involved in importing or exporting, then it could support the conclusion. However, it includes no such information, only the simple fact that they are purchasing more.

So, we can eliminate (D).

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03 Mar 2025, 06:31

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agrasan - look at the argument again and ask yourself - what are we trying to strengthen? Is it:

1. Revenue of exporters (regardless of where the revenue comes from)
2. Revenue of exporters from exporting goods to other countries.

What do you think?

thereule

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I came up with reasoning that now very less containers are arriving in country X compared to times before , so whatever number of containers they would be filled quickly.

Whereas for D I assumed there is no goods left to export as local consumers are consuming all of it, that's why exporters revenue would decline.

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thereule

I came up with reasoning that now very less containers are arriving in country X compared to times before , so whatever number of containers they would be filled quickly.

Yes, but exporters do not have enough containers to meet demand. That's why they've experienced lower revenues, lost orders, etc. The containers are LEAVING Country X quickly, but, because of choice (B) along with a reduction in imports, the containers aren't coming back to Country X quickly enough.

thereule

Whereas for D I assumed there is no goods left to export as local consumers are consuming all of it, that's why exporters revenue would decline.

We can't assume that an increase in purchasing in Country X would cause a decrease in what's available to export. It's possible that consumers are purchasing items that are not a significant source of exporter revenue. It's also possible that possible that there is plenty of supply to meet the increased demand in Country X in addition to overseas demand.

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