A leading shipping analyst has drastically cut its 2018 ocean carrier profitability forecast from $5bn to “breakeven at best”. In a new research note published this morning, Drewry claims “carriers’ lack of control has come back to bite them this year”. A surge in oil prices destroyed their profitability in the first quarter, which followed a return to the black last year with around $7bn of net profit. This year, according to the cumulative losses of carriers that publish their results, the first-quarter deficit hit more than $1.2bn.
Posted on - 2018-06-24