03SEP2019 - News - How a global recession could impact ocean shipping

Signs of an impending global recession are piling up. The inverted U.S. Treasury yield curve. Dangerously high debt. Industrial slowdowns. Volatile stock markets and trade wars. A world map littered with potential economic and geopolitical crises.

Ocean shipping is inordinately exposed to global recessions, given how worldwide slowdowns curb seaborne trade. The events of 2008-09 crippled ship owners and were felt for years thereafter (some would say they’re still felt today).

What if the signals turn out to be correct, not a false alarm, and another global recession ensues? How would ocean shipping be impacted this time around?

This risk was addressed in a new report by Clarksons Platou Securities, authored by shipping equity research managing director Frode Mørkedal and analysts Erik Hovi and Henriette Vevstad.