According to BDO, confidence in the shipping industry rose in the three months to end-February 2021, reported in the latest Shipping Confidence Survey. It is evident that our industry is beginning to see the bright light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and that the progress being made to tackle the pandemic is helping to drive up confidence.

The average confidence level recorded by the survey was 6.6 out of a possible maximum of 10.0. This compares to the figure of 6.0 recorded for the quarter ended November 2020.

The industry can see the bright light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. The progress being made in tackling the pandemic continued to drive up confidence. This generally positive outlook is broadly present in all business types and across regions.

COVID-19 continues to be a fact of everyday life but the deployment of vaccines provides light at the end of the tunnel. Shipping has, perhaps, been more resilient than other sectors and the continued and growing confidence illustrated by this report is testament to this resilience. However, there was a slight easing in the expectation of making a major investment, which may be an indicator that the way ahead will not always be smooth.

Read the full report from BDO here.