Supply Chain Research

The shipping industry is in the midst of a financial recovery that will need significant capacity and pricing discipline through 2018 to deliver. An increase in profitability (measured by the EBITDA margin) to 12.5% from 11.4% in 2017 is possible, Panjiva analysis of consensus financial forecasts shows. In the container-line sector analysts’ forecasts call for an increase in profitability to 9.7% from 5.5% in 2016. That could come despite a jump in bunker fuel costs in 4Q that has not been matched by increasing rates. A further increase to 11.7% in 2018 requires post-merger delivery of c...