Shipping confidence drops to two-year low
Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry fell during the three months to November 2014 to their lowest level for two years, according to the latest shipping confidence survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens.
In November 2014, the average confidence level expressed by respondents in the markets in which they operate was 5.7 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high), down from the 6.1 recorded in August 2014. This compares to the record high of 6.8 when the survey was launched in May 2008.
The survey revealed increasing concern about the high cost of achieving compliance with new regulations, and ongoing doubts about overtonnaging. But it was not all bad news, with charterers, managers and brokers all more confident than they were three months previously of making a new investment over the coming year. Geographically, confidence was down in Asia and Europe to 5.8 and 5.6 respectively from the levels of 6.0 and 6.1 recorded three months earlier. Confidence in North America, however, held steady at 6.2.