Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Sustained buoyancy in shipping industry

Since 2003, the world economy has been experiencing a growth phase, the rate of growth varying between 4-5 per cent, and this has helped the shipping industry to have arguably the best period ever.

The protracted buoyancy in the shipping market has attracted the interest of general investors with the result shipping stocks are ruling high. There is a feeling now that shipping is unlikely to face the kind of slumps experienced earlier. Ship-owners are willing to pay skyrocketing prices to acquire the existing tonnage and the tremendous ordering frenzy has resulted in slots in all established shipyards being booked until almost the end of 2011. The increased trade in finished goods with the emergence of India and China as the manufacturing hubs is also likely to add further impetus to the growth in demand in the container segment. All these factors and realistic expectations due to the growth of the world economy could make 2008 another decent year for the world as well as Indian shipping.

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