Indian Railways is discussing if its current 25% discount for moving empty containers inland along some routes needs to be extended beyond March. Read more
Exporters Take Unusual Steps to Ease Container Shortage
“Exporters and their industry groups are noisier and more active lobbyists on these types of issues,” said Daniel Richards, a senior analyst at Maritime Strategies International Ltd., a shipping consultancy. “When you add to that the importance of the export sector to most Asian economies you can see why these governments have at least made efforts to be seen to be proactive. Read more in Bloomberg
Market efficiency could rain on the parade despite comparisons to supercycle
The ability to separate exuberance from inefficiency is key to understanding how long higher earnings are likely to be maintained. Read more, written by MSI’s Managing Director, Adam Kent, in TradeWinds
BHP’s economic and commodity outlook (FY21 half year)
MSI’s forecasts and data used in BHP’s economic and commodity outlook. Read more here
Saga requires all cruise customers to have Covid vaccine
According to a report from the research consultancy Maritime Strategies International, only 7.5m people took cruises in 2020, compared with almost 30m in 2019. MSI said that it expected 11.9m people to take a cruise this year. Read more in the Financial Times
World boxship fleet update: New orders emerge at end of extraordinary year
“A flurry of large containership order at the end of 2020 has increased the industry orderbook back to just over 10% of the fleet, although almost all were orders we already had anticipated would take place in either 2020 or 2021,” said analysts at Maritime Strategies International. Read more in Lloyd’s List
Near-term uncertainty plagues the OSV market
Limited visibility and volatility have made planning for 2021 difficult and there is little by way of longer term clarity, writes Gregory Brown, associate director – offshore at Maritime Strategies International. Read more in Splash News
Car carrier sector shows signs of recovery
Car sales crept up toward pre-pandemic levels toward the end of the year. Tonnage is getting scarce, and an ‘extremely low’ orderbook bodes well for future earnings, MSI research director Niklas Carlen says. Read more in Lloyd’s List
Cruise passenger numbers seen to stage strong 2021 leap but remain way behind 2019
The number of people taking a cruise worldwide this year is likely to stage a strong rebound from 2020, but even this would leave the 2021 levels more than 50% below the figure reached before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, a leading research and forecasting consultancy Maritime Strategies International (MSI) said in a report. Read more in Cruise Business
Cruise recovery in 2021 faces big challenges says MSI
Confidence in the safety of cruise shipping and the economic impact of Coronavirus on potential demand will challenge the industry’s attempts at a full 2021 recovery, according to leading research and forecasting consultancy Maritime Strategies International. Read more in ShipInsight