SMM Maritime Industry Report: The sector between uncertainty and a new beginning
Hardly any other sector worldwide is undergoing such radical change as the maritime industry. Above all, the issues of skills shortages and decarbonisation present enormous challenges for shipping, shipyards and suppliers. Against this backdrop, how does the maritime sector assess its future prospects and growth opportunities? These are just two of the topics covered in the major industry survey conducted every two years by Hamburg Messe und Congress in the run-up to SMM, the world’s leading maritime trade fair. “The SMM Maritime Industry Report 2023 provides a detailed snapshot of the mood within the maritime industry and gives us important insights for shaping the content of SMM 2024,” saysClaus Ulrich Selbach, Head of the Maritime and Technology Trade Fairs Division at Hamburg Messe und Congress. In May/June 2023, the market research institute Mindline surveyed more than 1,000 decision-makers from shipping companies, shipyards and supplier firms across 71 countries for the SMM MIR. They represent the spectrum of exhibiting companies and trade visitors at SMM.
Maritime industry remains confident
The overall Maritime Industry Score index reflects the sentiment across the three sectors: shipowners, shipyards and suppliers. The figure is derived from the balance of positive and negative assessments. Although the score fell by 3.7 points to 52.1 in 2023 compared with the 2021 survey, this is primarily due to the 15-point drop in the shipowners’ score. In 2021, shipowners had benefited from sustained record levels in freight and charter rates and were consequently optimistic about the future. However, theshipowners’ expectations, which fell in 2023, still lie well above the levels recorded in the 2017 and 2019 surveys. “After twelve years of crisis and two years of boom, the markets in most sectors are now back to normal levels with largely adequate rates,” says Dr Martin Kröger, Chief Executive of the Association of German Shipowners, describing this development.
The outlook for theshipyards remained stable, with the cruise shipbuilding sector once again seeing light at the end of the tunnel following the pandemic-induced crisis. The energy transition, for example, offers cause for hope here: the expansion of offshore wind energy is driving demand for both specialised vessels and converter platforms. “The offshore business for the German shipbuilding industry is on the horizon,” predicts Dr Reinhard Lüken, Chief Executive of the Association for Shipbuilding and Marine Technology (VSM). However, a healthy core business is a prerequisite for shipyards to successfully develop offshore production.
Suppliers rate their prospects as extremely good. The sector score rose by 5.6 to 64.8 points, almost reaching the previous high set in 2019. “Shipowners are once again investing significantly more, and as a result the national and international markets are developing very positively,” saysMartin Johannsmann, Chairman of the Board of the Marine Equipment and Systems Working Group within the VDMA. The fact that, across all sectors, 61 per cent of respondents anticipate growth in global trade and 53 per cent of shipowners expect higher capacity utilisation confirms this assessment.
Numerous factors of uncertainty
Yet despite all the prevailing optimism, many participants in the study also see obstacles to successful business development. For a total of 55 per cent, these include the uncertain economic situation, high energy costs (42 per cent) and the effects of inflation (39 per cent). Of the three segments, shipbuilders are feeling the consequences of the war in Ukraine most acutely: they report higher material costs (64 per cent), higher energy costs (50 per cent) and supply problems (45 per cent).
Increased new-build activity
Sustainability and digitalisation are seen as the drivers for investment in the sector. Of particular interest to the market – and therefore also to the SMM this coming September – is the fact that the purchase of new ships is significantly higher on the agenda amongshipowners than in previous SMM-MIR surveys. 46 per cent of those responsible consider it “likely” or “very likely” that they will order new ships by the end of 2024 – seven percentage points more than in 2021 and as many as 18 more than in 2019. Among the different types of vessel, the tanker segment stands out by a wide margin. The representatives surveyed from the shipyards also anticipate a wave of orders for naval vessels. Added to this is the rising demand for offshore service vessels in connection with the expansion of renewable energies.
A broad range of topics at SMM
The maritime energy transition, digitalisation, new military challenges at sea: the latest SMM Maritime Industry Report highlights the issues driving the sector and the trends it is adapting to. The world’s leading trade fair in Hamburg will comprehensively cover all key topics for the maritime economy with a wide range of exhibiting companies and accompanying specialist conferences, saysChristoph Lücke,Director of SMM at Hamburg Messe und Congress. “SMM brings together all decision-makers in the maritime industry and serves as a showcase for innovation. SMM enables economic developments to be translated into concrete business decisions.”
Source: www.smm-hamburg.com