UNCERTAINTY may be the only guarantee you can rely on for 2020, but decisions still need to be made, investments planned for and global trade is not going to stop just because the shipping markets are riddled with doubt.

Forecasts are fallible, but solid business intelligence built out of robust data is increasingly the benchmark of success. So who better to talk us through the potential pitfalls of the next 12 months than our very own head of the Lloyd's List Intelligence consulting team, Christopher Pålsson.

Chris and our editor, Richard Meade, sat down in London earlier this month to discuss the latest growth figures, demand dynamics and potential supply slip ups, in between debating the impact of regulatory decisions yet to come and the flexibility that everyone is now paying through the nose for.

If you want to have your say on the issues shaping shipping over the next year we would love to get your take on the key questions we have posed as part of the Lloyd’s List annual Outlook Survey.

The Lloyd’s List Annual Outlook Survey takes less than five minutes to complete and will help guide our thinking as we compile our end-of-year analysis and take look forward to the opportunities and risks that lie ahead for us in 2020. The results of the survey will be revealed on December 10 at our Outlook 2020 Forum in London, where we will gather the sharpest minds in the business to discuss the opportunities and threats presented by these trends.

Discussing the results of this year’s survey at our Outlook 2020 Forum will be:

• Katharina Stanzel, managing director, Intertanko
• Michael Parker, chairman of Citi’s shipping and logistics division
• Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, chief executive officer, DNV GL Maritime
• Dr Grahaeme Henderson, vice-president of shipping and maritime, Shell International Trading and Shipping
• Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO
• Mark Cameron, executive vice-president and chief operating officer, Ardmore Shipping

There are still a few seats free for this event, but register now or risk missing out. And while you’re there, don’t forget to book your table at the Lloyd’s List Awards in the evening.

The survey results will also be reflected in Lloyd’s List’s 2020 Outlook report, due to be published in December on Lloydslist.com.

Enjoy the podcast and don’t forget, you can now subscribe to the Lloyd’s List Podcast via iTunes and Spotify, as well as most other podcast providers. And make sure you are registered for a free account on Lloydslist.com so you can receive our Daily Briefing e-mail.