BIMCO has published its Reflections 2013, a concise, condensed and thought-provoking analysis of the challenges facing the shipping industry today and during the coming year. Shipping is a key facilitator of world trade and the performance of this essential sector is completely interdependent with those of the global economy. While there is some optimism that the worst of the global downturn is now behind us, a perceptive economic analysis outlines the challenges facing the main shipping sectors on account of the excessive supply of ships.