The ongoing trade war between the US and China, coupled with slowing global economic growth, has failed to buffet the shipping market bellwether, the Baltic Dry Index, which is up almost 50 per cent since July. Huge demand for dry bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal, and grain has helped the Index touch a five year high recently. In fact, the tariff war and sanctions have been a blessing in disguise since it has led to the finding of longer shipping routes which in turn employ freight vessels for ...

Oman Shipping Company (OSC), a member of the ASYAD Group, has today held a naming ceremony for the latest addition to the company’s Dry Bulk fleet, the Jabal Shams. The ceremony marks the official handover of the vessel from Zhoushan Changhong Shipyard to OSC. The new ship will join OSC’s fleet of over 50 world-class vessels including LNG Carriers, LPG Carriers, VLCCs, Tankers, VLOCs, Dry Cargo, and Container ships. Today’s ceremony follows the naming of the Jabal Shams’ sister ship, the Jabal Almisht in Zhoushan in August. The two new ...

Today, Monday, September 09 2019, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 40 points, reaching 2422 points.

In ocean shipping, there’s an inherent lag between when charter rates recover and when they’re reflected in earnings. Such lags are not unusual. If you watch the news and see the price of crude oil suddenly collapse, then expect to immediately fill your tank for much less at your local gas station, you will be disappointed. The downside of this phenomenon, as shown in the latest earnings of Safe Bulkers (NYSE: SB), is that a sharp rebound in dry bulk rates beginning at the tail end of the second quarter ...

Brazilian iron ore products have enjoyed greater popularity among most Chinese steelmakers over the past several weeks, due to their better price performance compared with mainstream Australian iron ore fines, market sources said. By August 20, the price spread between 61.5% PB Fines and 63% Brazilian Blend Fines (BRBF) at Qingdao in East China’s Shandong province, had widened to Yuan 2/wmt ($0.3/wmt), the widest since January 2018, according to Mysteel’s database which selects two representative brands of the respective markets for price comparison. Source: Mysteel

Foreign buyers of Australian coal have deferred shipments over the past two months, adding to evidence of fading demand for several export commodities. Peabody Energy said its financial performance had “materially” deteriorated since June 30 on the back of ”demand-driven deferrals” of coal shipments, slumping coal prices and a slower than expected return to production at Queensland’s Middlemount mine after safety incidents. Peabody told AFR Weekend on Friday that its Australian coking coal and thermal coal exports were among those affected by the “demand-driven deferrals”. The deferrals add to mounting ...

Capesize The market reached new heights this week as the 5TC topped $38,014, a level not seen in the sector since 2013. Fridays 5TC closed down $732 to settle at $37,921. While this week’s surge in rates was driven by a tightening of tonnage that is able to arrive within September, a wider sector story is emerging of vessel delays being caused by docking issues. The upcoming IMO regulations, which will apply from 1 January 2020, have vessels preparing tanks to receive cleaner fuels while others are installing scrubber units ...

China’s iron ore imports rose again in August to a 19-month high, customs data showed on Sunday, boosted by rebounding supplies from big miners and mills replenishing inventory as demand stabilised. Arrivals of the steelmaking raw material totalled 94.85 million tonnes last month, up 4.2% from 91.02 million tonnes in July, to mark the highest level of imports since January 2018. For the first eight months of 2019, China’s imports of iron ore reached 684.9 million tonnes, down from 710 million tonnes in the same period last year. “Conditions for ...

The US-China trade dispute has evolved into a very different animal in the past year. After multiple bouts of tariffs and counter-tariffs, on August 23, Beijing slapped a 5% levy on US crude for the first time, targeting a commodity already influenced by the trade tensions, and adding to a swathe of US-origin commodities like propane, LNG and soybeans. This was part of a wider tariff on $75 billion of US imports into China. US President Donald Trump responded with raising tariffs on $550 billion of Chinese goods, and ordered ...

China’s iron ore imports rose again in August to a 19-month high, customs data showed on Sunday, boosted by rebounding supplies from big miners and mills replenishing inventory as demand stabilised. Arrivals of the steelmaking raw material totalled 94.85 million tonnes last month, up 4.2% from 91.02 million tonnes in July, to mark the highest level of imports since January 2018. For the first eight months of 2019, China’s imports of iron ore reached 684.9 million tonnes, down from 710 million tonnes in the same period last year. “Conditions for ...

Inventories of iron ore across 35 Chinese ports dipped this week, after two consecutive weeks of gains, falling 350,000 mt from a week earlier to 110.3 million mt as of Friday September 6, showed SMM data. On a year-over-year basis, port stocks declined 25.68 million mt. Steelmakers stepped up restocking this week, as evidenced by moderate increases in in-plant stocks and greater deliveries departing from ports in east, south China and along the Yangtze River. Daily iron ore deliveries from the 35 ports averaged 2.87 million mt this week, increasing ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index continued to fall on Friday, having broken a 10-day winning streak on Thursday, as rates throughout vessel segments eased. The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 37 points, or 1.5%, to 2,462 points. The index on Wednesday hit its highest since Nov. 2010 at 2,518 points. It has nearly doubled this year. The capesize index dropped 87 points, or 1.7%, to 4,949 points, but marked its fourth consecutive weekly gain. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically ...

You wouldn’t know it from the performance of dry bulk stocks, but bulk shipping rates are on fire and reaching new heights well beyond levels seen in June and July when optimism toward the sector first flared. On Sept. 4, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which tracks rates of bulkers in multiple segments, hit 2,518 points, its highest level since November 2010, almost nine years ago. Shares in the Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping exchange-traded fund (NYSE: BDRY), which purchases freight futures to mimic the BDI, are up 127% since April. ...

Pilbara Ports Authority has delivered a total monthly throughput of 62.1 million tonnes (Mt) for the month of August 2019. This throughput was a 6% increase compared to the same month in 2018. The total throughput for the 2019/20 financial year to date is 118.8Mt, an increase of 4% from the same time last year. The Port of Port Hedland achieved a monthly throughput of 46.1Mt, of which 45.4Mt was iron ore exports. The monthly throughput was a 7% increase from August 2018. Imports through the Port of Port Hedland ...

Today, Friday, September 06 2019, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 37 points, reaching 2462 points.