A shipping recovery is on the
horizon, according to the
Investors Chronicle.
After five years in the doldrums,
those on the inside were reluctant
to call a turn in the notoriously
cyclical shipping industry.
Conditions have, however,
improved enough to cause a ripple
of excitement in
some quarters,
and the Chronicle
thinks “with some
justification”.
“There are
indications that
market sentiment is
starting to improve,”
said Johnny
Plumbe, executive
chairman at shipbroker ACM
Shipping (ACMG).
“The worst is over,” added Mark
Williams, research director at
Braemar Seascope. “Nobody is
feeling irrational exuberance,
but there are grounds for some
cautious optimism for 2014.”
And Clarkson’s (CKN) top
number-cruncher, Jeff Woyda, told
the publication recently there was
“light at the end of the tunnel”.
But, as Williams said, none
are getting carried away. Several
themes at play since the credit
crunch are still washing through
the system. Huge numbers of
ships ordered during the boom
years were still
being built and
hitting the seven
seas as the west
began navigating a
series of damaging
recessions. Freight
rates and ship
values plummeted,
credit dried up
and high-profile
bankruptcies followed.
Calling the turn is also made
more difficult by the sheer
complexity of the shipping
industry, with myriad variables
such as vessel size, age, range,
cargo and sea route that affect
freight rates.
INSERT
There are indications
that market sentiment
is starting to improve.
– Johnny Plumbe
