Confidence in shipping sector picking up steam

BY a happy coincidence, this year's Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) is being held just as overall confidence levels in the shipping industry rose to their highest level in almost six years in the three months to February 2014. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this trend has continued. According to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens, freight rates are likely to improve or be maintained at existing levels over the next 12 months, while an increase in private equity funding is expected to have a major impact on the industry.

The firm says that the average confidence level expressed by respondents in the markets in which they operate was 6.5 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high), compared to the 6.1 recorded in the previous survey in Nov…