Shipping + Broader Investment Trends

When you think of mainstream investment categories, things like tech and real estate come to mind–not shipping. But decisions to allocate capital into shipping are often deeply intertwined with broader investment trends.

2000s | China joined the World Trade Organization, setting off a commodities supercycle that enormously benefitted shipping and led to a wave of IPOs. This wave ultimately came crashing down, and by the end of the decade, shipping attracted distressed investors in search of bargains.

2010s | Lending banks retreated from the shipping sector due to poor results and tightening regulations, so private credit funds stepped in to provide shipowners with debt capital.

2020s | Infrastructure investors turned to shipping to capitalize on vessels with long-term contracts (such as LNG carriers) and energy transition-focused investors funded vessels utilizing new fuel efficient technologies to help decarbonize the sector.

Shipping may come in and out of vogue with different types of investors and strategies, but the industry constantly requires huge amounts of capital to fund its vessels that facilitate global trade.