Valuation mismatch and shipping q indicator for shipping asset management

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to develop an adaptation of the Tobin Q investment model for the shipping asset management in order to monitor valuation mismatch and bubble pricing of shipping assets. In this circumstance, the market prices of various shipping assets (e.g., Capesize or Panamax dry bulk carriers in different age profiles) are compared to the measured long-term asset value with second-hand ship prices. The mark-to-market prices of shipping assets are led by current market trends and freight rates, while the long-term asset value is estimated by using past data under certain assumptions (mean reversion, trend reversion). The discrepancy between market prices and the long-term nominal value of a shipping asset reflects any mispricing, which in turn sheds light on investment timing and market entry-exit decision.     

2013年世界船舶市场评述与未来展望

文章对2013年的世界经济发展作了概述,回顾和总结这一年的船舶市场,并对未来的发展方向进行预测。2013年的世界经济复苏缓慢,经济上行动力仍然不足。航运市场上,干散货船呈现“先抑后扬”的走势,BDI指数创下三年来的新高,油船和集装箱船走势低迷。船舶市场上已释放出一些积极的信号,新船订单量大幅攀升,船价企稳回升。三大主力船型表现相对抢眼,但海工装备订单出现下滑。2014年,预计世界经济形势将有所好转,但未来相当长一段时间都将维持低速增长。随着干散货船和油船运力增幅逐年下降,这两种船型的运力过剩现象将得到改善。然而,集装箱船运力过剩的问题依然十分突出,海工装备市场在中、短期内都有望维持较高的景气度。     

2015年世界船舶市场评述与2016年展望

文章对2015年世界经济、航运、造船市场进行回顾,并对2016年市场发展予以展望。2015年,不同经济体的经济增长分化迹象日趋明显;油船：航运市场和新造船市场一枝独秀;箱船：航运市场低迷,运力过剩,然而2015年订单飚升（主要指超大型集装箱船）,但2016年难以再现;干散货船及海工：市场低迷,订单严重下滑。新船价格持续下降。预计2016年世界经济总体略优于2015年;航运市场贸易量同比将出现增长,但难以抗衡2016年运力的大幅增长,市场供求仍失衡;预测2016年新造船市场逊于2015年,散货船、集装箱船和油船存在局部性机会,海工市场维持弱势。     

2009年世界船舶市场评述与展望

对2009年世界船舶市场的发展进行了回顾,并对未来一两年的船舶市场进行了展望。2009年上半年,伴随着世界经济衰退,不论是建造市场还是航运市场,总体趋势依旧向下。下半年,随着全球经济开始复苏,航运市场有所起色,而建造市场依旧低迷,全年新船订单量同比下降超60%。2010年全球经济虽将有所恢复,运力需求也将随之回升,但根据目前手持订单,2010年依旧将有大量运力投入运营,市场总体仍不太乐观。     

Vertical integration and its implications to port expansion

ABSTRACT

Over the years many shipping lines have established terminal operation companies, with some set up as independent firms. However, port authorities and local governments have not always welcomed external investment and control with open arms. The economic implications and each stakeholder’s best strategies remain unclear. This study develops an analytical model in order to study the effects of vertical integration, with a focus on shipping lines’ investment in ports’ capacity. Modelling results suggest that vertical integration between terminal operator and a shipping line leads to higher port capacity, port charge, market output and consumer surplus. It also reduces delay costs. All these results suggest that vertical integration can be an important source of synergy for the maritime industry. Although vertical integration increases the participating carrier’s output at the expenses of non-integrating rival shipping firms, our numerical analysis suggests that the overall social welfare is likely to increase. Preliminary empirical tests confirm that vertically integrated ports handle more traffic volumes and are associated with better infrastructure and equipment. Therefore, port authorities and government regulators should carefully review the market competition status as well as port expansion plans.     

Modelling the investment decision of the entrepreneur in the tanker sector: choosing between a second-hand vessel and a newly built one

It is often the case that the investor in the shipping sector faces the dilemma of investing in a second-hand vessel or building a new one. This happens because an active second-hand market for almost all kinds of vessels exists. We argue that one of the prime considerations for the investment decision should not be the price of the vessel per se, second-hand (SH) or newly built (NP) but

• ?(a)?the relative price ratio (SH/NP) second-hand price over the new building price and

• ?(b)?the movement of this ratio.

We investigate the determinants of this ratio across different vessel sizes in the tanker sector and show that it can be used as an effective tool in investment decision as well as in asset appraisal.

We employ monthly data between 1995 and 2006 for four different ship sizes–VLCC, Suezmax, Aframax and Handysize–and implement an error correction model.

The investment decision depends on a number of risk and return variables as well as the perceived speed of adjustment of the price ratio to its equilibrium level.

Overall we claim that the cyclicality of the shipping sector together with expectations formed by the agents operating in it (the entrepreneur, the ship-owner and the broker), determine the movement of the ratio and hence the decision of the entrepreneur.     

Assessment of investment decision in the dry bulk shipping market based on real options thinking and the shipping cycle perspective

As the dry bulk shipping market seems to have been stuck in a trough period for a long time, investors need to pay more attention to their investment strategies to survive during this period. This study aimed to find a suitable model to assess dry bulk ship investment decisions in the tough and peak periods based on real options theories. Two options, involving an abandonment option and a deferrable option, were used to define investors’ responses to the uncertainty in investment processes such as stopping or selling vessels. The option valuation was solved by using a binomial valuation model, due to data limitations. In accordance with shipping cycle theories, different volatility parameters for the tough and peak periods were calculated using a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model. The application of the real options model to a case study involving secondhand ship trading indicated its viability. According to the results of the case study, the new model has advantages over the traditional net present value (NPV) method in uncertain investment environments. Thus, the results demonstrate that the real options model is a more suitable method for use in the current dry bulk shipping market.     

An econometric analysis for container shipping market

This article presents an econometric analysis for the fluctuation of the container freight rate due to the interactions between the demand for container transportation services and the container fleet capacity. The demand is derived from international trade and is assumed to be exogenous, while the fleet capacity increases with new orders made two years before, proportional to the industrial profit. Assuming the market clears each year, the shipping freight rate will change with the relative magnitude of shifts in the demand and fleet capacity.

This model is estimated using the world container shipping market statistics from 1980 to 2008, applying the three-stage least square method. The estimated parameters of the model have high statistical significance, and the overall explanatory power of the model is above 90%. The short-term in-sample prediction of the model can largely replicate the container shipping market fluctuation in terms of the fleet size dynamics and the freight rate fluctuation in the past 20 years. The prediction of the future market trend reveals that the container freight rate should continue to decrease in the coming three years if the demand for container transportation services grows at less than 8%.     

Investment strategies in market uncertainty

The nature of the global economy is one of dynamic change. Shipping is a service industry with its demand related to changes in international trade levels and patterns. As a consequence shipping is subject to sometimes unpredictable swings in demand so that the operator is required to make strategic planning decisions while navigating through boom or bust environments. While boom economies generate rising freight rates which are welcomed and encourage investment, ship operators may also have to face falling freight demand and declining freight rates that may have significant impact on profitability, often falling to uneconomic levels for extended periods. In such a period of uncertainty and declining profitability management will make operational decisions to reduce costs. However, shipping lines operate in a market environment so any decisions made to rationalize the trade may have significant long-term competitive implications. For example, traditional micro economic theory might suggest that the prudent strategy to adopt would be to close down the operation and reopen when the market conditions improve. In a world of certainty or when costs of taking this action are zero, this would be a valid strategy. However, because of fear of competitors taking up a line's market share if the shipping company exits, even temporarily, this strategy cannot be valued simply in terms of shut-down and start-up costs. A further consideration is the fact that standard capital budgeting techniques, such as Net Present Value (NPV), cannot incorporate the flexibility to respond to new information and strategic responses explicitly into their investment analysis. This paper will demonstrate the use of Real Option Analysis (ROA) to provide guidelines for decisions about closing operations in adverse market conditions.     

2007年世界船舶市场评述及展望

对2007年来的世界经济发展及在此大背景下的船舶行业进行了总结和回顾,并对未来市场进行预测。2007年的世界船舶行业较2006年有所不同,不论是航运市场还是建造市场,散货船可谓独挡一面,出现了前所未有的兴旺景象。集装箱船市场稳步发展,表现好于预期,而油船市场则不尽人意,不过其建造市场却出现了量缩价涨之势。鉴于目前的市场情况,未来各船型的发展趋势将各有所向,而受新规范出台、美元疲软、材料设备成本增加、船台吃紧等因素影响,预计未来船价还将在高位运行。总体来说,虽然对航运市场运力的持续快速增长将带来一些影响,但未来一段时期内船市总体仍将保持较兴旺的局面。     

Investment strategies in market uncertainty

The nature of the global economy is one of dynamic change. Shipping is a service industry with its demand related to changes in international trade levels and patterns. As a consequence shipping is subject to sometimes unpredictable swings in demand so that the operator is required to make strategic planning decisions while navigating through boom or bust environments. While boom economies generate rising freight rates which are welcomed and encourage investment, ship operators may also have to face falling freight demand and declining freight rates that may have significant impact on profitability, often falling to uneconomic levels for extended periods. In such a period of uncertainty and declining profitability management will make operational decisions to reduce costs. However, shipping lines operate in a market environment so any decisions made to rationalize the trade may have significant long-term competitive implications. For example, traditional micro economic theory might suggest that the prudent strategy to adopt would be to close down the operation and reopen when the market conditions improve. In a world of certainty or when costs of taking this action are zero, this would be a valid strategy. However, because of fear of competitors taking up a line's market share if the shipping company exits, even temporarily, this strategy cannot be valued simply in terms of shut-down and start-up costs. A further consideration is the fact that standard capital budgeting techniques, such as Net Present Value (NPV), cannot incorporate the flexibility to respond to new information and strategic responses explicitly into their investment analysis. This paper will demonstrate the use of Real Option Analysis (ROA) to provide guidelines for decisions about closing operations in adverse market conditions.     

2006年世界船舶市场评述及展望

总结了近一年来世界经济的发展,在此大背景下对2006年的船舶行业进行了总结和回顾,并对未来市场进行预测.世界船舶行业在2006年出现一个显著特征,即在航运市场回落的情况下船舶建造市场出现了前所未有的兴旺景象,船舶交易出现价高量大的场面.究其原因,船厂任务已饱满、受新规范影响,成本进一步提高以及对后市航运市场看好等原因起到主要作用.鉴于目前订单情况及航运市场现状,预测未来船价还将保持高位运行,航运市场运力将得到进一步快速扩增,甚至会出现供大于求的局面,不过崩盘的可能性不会太大.     

Efficient pricing of ships in the dry bulk sector of the shipping industry

The aim of this paper was to investigate the validity of the Efficient Market Hypothesis in conjunction with Rational Expectations in the formation of dry bulk ship prices over the period January 1976-December 1997. Tests for market efficiency include those of orthogonality and unpredictability of excess returns on investments and tests based on the Vector Autoregressive models proposed by Campbell and Shiller. The latter methodology is extended further to a 3-variable Vector Autoregressive model, which is applicable to real assets with limited economic life. Results indicate that prices for newbuilding and second-hand vessels are not determined efficiently in the sense of Fama. Failure of the Efficient Market Hypothesis in the formation of ship prices is explained by the existence of timevarying risk premia, which relate excess returns to investors' perceptions of risk. These are modelled through the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity in mean (GARCH-M) models. The results have important implications for shipping investment strategies, both in the newbuilding and second-hand markets.     

Korean liner shipping in the era of global alliances

In the course of the last two decades Korean shipping has emerged as a major player in the liner market. In 1970 there was not a single container ship in the Korean fleet; yet, within the next two decades, shipping companies from Korea have become included among the top 10 liner operators in the world, in the context of a spectacular ascent of Asian companies in international container shipping. During the same period the organization of liner shipping itself underwent major changes. In the 1970s and 1980s, pools and powerful consortia prevailed, maximizing frequency and optimizing fleet deployment under pressure from the high investment entailed by containerization. The era of consortia, however, came to a close in the early 1990s; intermodalism and the expansion of the major liner companies into forward and backward segments of the transport chain rendered them inflexible for pursuing individual strategies of product diversification with a view to larger market shares. Global alliances were finally born as a result of a major reshuffling of co-operation agreements and of the globalization of the production process on the demand side. The aim of this paper is to follow and assess the options available to an aggressive low-cost national fleet in its journey to competitive maturity through a period of changing organization of liner shipping, focusing on the course of the leading Korean container company, and one of the largest in the world today, Hanjin. It highlights at the same time both the deep structural changes which liner shipping has undergone in the last two decades and the effects of current changes, such as the recent wave of mergers in this sector.     

2020年世界船舶市场评述与2021年展望

回顾了2020年世界经济、航运、造船市场,并对2021年船舶市场进行展望。2020年新冠肺炎疫情席卷全球,全球经济整体呈现负增长,导致航运各细分市场情况迥异,除集运市场年底火热外,其他市场均处于低迷状态。新船交付量整体大幅回落,与去年同比减少约31%,市场出现大面积撤单现象,仅海工市场基本面向好。新船建造市场受疫情影响,与2019年同期相比下跌约11%,散货船是今年交付量中唯一呈现增长的船型。2021年预计世界经济同比大幅反弹,航运市场需求将强于供给,市场形势总体将优于2020年;同时,考虑到疫情对市场的影响效应短期持续,预计世界船舶市场将逐步趋于理性,主要船型的新船订单量将朝着长期均衡方向逐步恢复增长,并且绿色和智能依旧是未来的大方向。     

市场随机波动下干散货和原油船投资决策研究

运用实物期权博弈理论,建立了航运市场随机波动情况下干散货和原油船舶的投资决策模型,得出了承运人之间同质竞争和差异化竞争时船舶的最优投资准则.理论研究和实证分析均表明:承运人的收益和投资船舶的边际收益随航运市场规模和风险的增加而增加;最优的船舶投资量与航运市场的规模和风险正相关;随着航运市场竞争的加剧,承运人的收益和最优的船舶投资量呈下降趋势;随着承运人之间服务差异化程度的增加,承运人的收益和最优的船舶投资量呈上升趋势.     

2018年世界船舶市场评述与2019年展望

回顾了2018年世界经济、航运、造船市场,并对2019年进行展望。2018年世界经济平稳复苏,航运市场整体趋势向好,新船订单吨位量小幅上升;2019年世界经济风险偏于下行,航运市场将在压力中前行,各细分市场"几家欢喜几家愁",世界新造船市场呈现弱复苏态势,绿色和智能是市场增长的主要动力来源。     

Lead–lag relationship between new-building and second-hand ship prices

We examine lead–lag relationships between new-building and second-hand ship prices. Our analysis shows the existence of a one-directional lead–lag relationship between two ship prices. The direction of lead–lag relationship is not affected by the time evolution and age of second-hand ships, but is affected by the division of shipping sector. Particularly, directions of ship price movements in dry bulk and tanker shipping sectors are opposite. We argue that the opposite directional lead–lag relationships are caused by the difference in competition levels and the difference in the purposes of trading in the two shipping sectors.     

沿海干散货船的船价影响因素及概率统计分析

由于船舶的投资额很大,所以航运企业在做投资决策之前对船价的影响因素做系统的分析,并对其进行准确的估计,对航运企业来说是至关重要的。本文分析了近几年沿海干散货船舶市场的影响因素,并运用概率统计的方法给出了近期船价的概率分布模型。     

2014年世界船舶市场评述及2015年展望

对2014年世界经济、航运、造船市场进行回顾,并对2015年的发展方向进行展望。2014年,世界经济总体属于不均衡复苏;航运市场总体表现低于预期,油运市场相对较好,商船队保有量增速持续放缓;新造船市场订单量过亿吨,液货船订单增多,新造船价格呈现中间高两端低的走势。预计2015年世界经济将继续呈现不均衡复苏态势,2014年大宗商品价格的暴跌将有利于世界经济的复苏;航运市场方面,预计集装箱运输市场和油运市场贸易运输需求增速超过运力增速,干散货运输市场继续供大于求;预测2015年油船订单将继续复苏,集装箱船和散货船市场维持2014年的景气度,海工市场看淡。