Wilbur Ross, an American billionaire fund manager, sees the pot of gold at the bottom of the rainbow. And it's not in hi-tech industries or other spearheads of high technology or high finance, but in an apparently traditional and humble corner: freight transport by ship. Truly, this distinction between high-tech and low-tech is all in the eye of the beholder. As Cesare Romiti said one day: if I come up with a cheaper way to make buttons, the button is a high-tech product.
And Wilbur Ross makes a simple observation: Shipping is a capital-intensive and inherently global industry. But this industry is shaken by the 'hog cycle' (periodic cycles of high transport demand followed by overproduction of ships and consequent excess capacities) and is highly fragmented. There is room for an interest of private equity which can easily reach many billions of dollars. Shipping shares are at a very low point right now and offer good opportunities to enter a sector that needs to consolidate.
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