Seas calmer for world’s biggest ship broker as global manufacturing rally boosts cargo

The world’s biggest shipbroker on Monday said brighter global manufacturing prospects were driving “very early signs” of recovery in cargo markets as interim profits rose.

Clarksons, which traces its history to 1852, flagged up increasing shipping volumes thanks to rising production in China, the US, Japan and the eurozone.

The company is still struggling from a major glut of shipping capacity, a hangover from a rush of orders before the financial crisis which drove down shipping rates.

But it added a combination of a rapid reduction in orders for new cargo ships as well as the closure of unviable shipyards was tackling the oversupply in the market, along with higher demand.

first-half pre-tax profits rose 12% to £24.5 million, on revenues up 7% to £156.8 million.

“Although we have continued to experience some challenging market conditions in the first half of 2017, very early signs of recovery in some of the major shipping markets are emerging,” chairman James Hughes-Hallett said.