The container industry is likely to be the shipping sector most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with global box trade set to be heavily impacted by disruption to the world economy, consumer activity and supply chains. Financial health remains weak and uncertain exacerbated by downgrades in global growth for 2020.

The ongoing global pandemic raises many questions around carrier industry financial health and parallels are being drawn to both the 2008-09 economic crises and Hanjin’s bankruptcy that took place in 2016.

Within this latest Special Report, DMFR has updated its independent assessment of the financial health of the box shipping industry, undertaking in-depth analysis of both the industry as whole and the top 14 container lines taking into consideration both the current and anticipated future market context.

Areas of analysis and key findings within this report:

• Is the macro trend supportive
• What does the overall financial health of the industry look like
• Which among the sample, top 14 container lines instil confidence with respect to financial or balance sheet strength
• Which carriers are the most vulnerable
• What is the overall trend in the first quarter of 2020
• Which carriers have boosted liquidity and how does their future business viability look like
• How do the company financials measure-up