Shipping confidence holds up in volatile climate

Richard Greiner, of Moore Stephens, considers the state of the industry as we wave goodbye to 2018

The shipping industry continued to demonstrate its resilience in the face of ongoing commercial and economic challenges in 2018. Industry confidence was at a four-year high of 6.4 out of a possible maximum of 10 according to Moore Stephens in its “Shipping Confidence Survey”. The survey was launched 10 years ago, just months before the 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy which was to trigger a protracted global financial recession. Shipping markets were buoyant at the time, with an average confidence level of 6.8 out 10.