01-04/2020
A happy new year from the team here at the ITJ!
Some of the details of what 2020 holds in store for us all have already spread. Every new beginning contains as much magic potential as it does doubt.
Overall, the augurs have been rather reticent and subdued concerning prospects for the new year. RWI’s container throughput index for example, which still stood at a record level recently, registered a one-point decline to 137.7 points in November 2019. World trade has thus actually declined. This makes a report that the US maritime consultancy BDO issued all the more striking. Its latest survey has found that managers and owners trust in the shipping industry hit the highest level for 18 months in the latest quarter. The value was last higher in February 2014. Faith in their own industry is thus better than could be expected.
The facts of the matter are that the signs all point to stability, despite all the discordant notes that have been sounded of late. Let’s see what surprises 2020 has in store for us.
Christian Doepgen
Editor-in-chief
