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The coronavirus and measures to curb its contagion are slashing into some of the country's biggest industries and threatening recession for the US economy.
Economic activity faces threats from supply chain disruptions and stay-at-home orders across the US. The initial virus-driven hit to tourism dragged travel and tourism industries lower through late February. Intense selling of airline and cruise stocks added to the market's plunge into bearish territory and prefaced the airline industry's request for federal aid.
Actions taken in March have shifted the economic hit to more domestic industries. Restaurant and bar activity tanked after major cities called for residents to avoid being in large groups. The hotel industry also faces a significant slowdown as Americans stay home and tourism grinds to a halt.
The Trump administration has hinted at offering multibillion-dollar loans to ailing industries, but data suggests their downturn has already begun. Here are four charts detailing the coronavirus's hit to the restaurant, hotel, airline, and cruise industries.
Airline activity has loosely followed case spikes in China, Italy, the US, and the UK, diving as countries ban international flights and companies pause non-essential travel.
China posted the biggest initial dip as the country took immediate and strict containment measures to curb further infection. Italy has since seen its airline activity slump the most as its virus death count soars past China's, according to flight capacity data from OAG.
The US and UK have only recently seen a downturn in flight capacity as the virus's contagion intensifies. The countries' trend lines more closely match the trend seen around the globe, and the moderate downward slope suggests the airline industry could be operating below its 2019 capacity for months to come.
The most drastic hit to activity may be among US restaurants. Several cities recently forced the industry to shift all business to take-out and delivery only in an attempt to beat community spread. The announcements brought restaurant bookings through popular app OpenTable to an almost-complete standstill by March 17.
Activity in most cities began to slow through the end of February, likely a byproduct of new cases growing in the US. Seattle faced the biggest initial hit as it hosted the most cases for weeks before New York City became the virus's US epicenter.
Hotel use has steadily dropped throughout the country as Americans self-quarantine and travel activity halts. Business revenue and occupancy posted sharp declines in the week ended March 14, according to data firm STR.
Some hotel chains in the UK have considered turning empty rooms into temporary hotel beds as the coronavirus spreads further across Europe. Best Western Great Britain, Hilton, Holiday Inn, and Travelodge are among the firms in talks to aid the National Health Service with rooms for patients and medical staff, The Guardian reported Thursday.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship made headlines in February when a coronavirus outbreak on the ship led to eight deaths and more than 700 infections from late January to early February. A second outbreak on Princess Cruises Grand Princess ship further sullied the industry's reputation and drove demand lower.
Goldman Sachs analysts studied past downturns and cruise-specific disasters to estimate how serious the sector could be hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The bank compared the dip in prices seen through March to past declines from the 2001 recession, 2008 financial crisis, and dual ship accidents in 2012.
Averaging the moves made after such events, cruise prices dipped by 6.3% and took roughly three and a half years to recover, Goldman said in the March 10 note. Should the coronavirus drive a similar dip, the cruise industry has several difficult years ahead of it.
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