The average confidence level fell to 5.5 in the three months to February on a scale of one to 10, down from 5.7 in November 2014.
The UK firm blamed the decline in its Shipping Confidence Survey on a surplus of tonnage, particularly in the dry-bulk sector.
“Over-tonnaging is not so much the elephant in the room as the room itself. It is a major factor in the collapse of freight rates,” said Moore Stephens partner Richard Greiner.
