Cement News tagged under: Baltic Dry Index

RSS feed

Dry bulk freight rates continue to soar

13 October 2021, Published under Cement News

On 7 October 2021, the Baltic Dry Index, a global indicator of bulk freight rates, reached 5670, marking its highest level since September 2008. This compares to just 393 in mid-May 2020 at the height of the pandemic (see Figure 1). The surge in rates can be attributed to a number of causes, primarily the re-opening of economies following COVID-19, which has led to a spike in demand for sea transportation as manufacturing resumes. However, due to the staggered nature of the reopening, vessel...

Freight rates dampen scrapping trend

05 October 2018, Published under Cement News

Better-than-expected dry bulk freight rates have done little to encourage shipowners to scrap  their older vessels, despite warnings of ongoing market volatility due to a lack of scrapping activity. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) hit 1773 points in the first week of August, compared to 1250 in the opening week of June, making owners increasingly reluctant to ditch their older tonnage. According to a report by Allied Shipbroking, only three dry bulk vessels were scrapped in the latter half of Aug...

Owners urged to scrap older vessels

06 September 2018, Published under Cement News

In the three-month period to 17 July 2018, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) rose from a low of 1042 points on 30 May to a high of 1695 on 16 July. Baltic Dry Index – three months to 17 July 2018 Khalid Hashim, managing director of Thailand-based Precious Shipping, which operates four cement carriers, has urged shipowners to scrap their older vessels or face continuing volatility. “If scrapping doesn’t accelerate then the BDI will continue to fluctuate sharply solely dependen...

Dry bulk on road to recovery?

31 July 2018, Published under Cement News

In the three-month period to 6 June 2018, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) began at 1212 points before falling steadily to 948 points four weeks later. By 14 May it had climbed to 1476 points, followed by a dip to 1077, before recovering to 1249 points by 6 June.  According to BIMCO, the dry bulk sector appears to be continuing on its road to recovery, as long as demand can stay ahead of fleet growth. Baltic Dry Index – three months to 6 June 2018

BDI rallies on back of coal demand

20 December 2017, Published under Cement News

Freight rates in the dry bulk sector are rising on the back of a commodity boom. By the end of November 2017, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) had improved by 45 per cent so far that year, coming in at over 1470 points in the closing week of the month. According to brokers, the late rise in dry bulk freight rates has been driven by renewed demand for coal in China and India. Some of this trend may be due to the Indian government’s potential extension of its petcoke ban forcing the country’s cement...

Freight: 30m dwt of scrapping needed

13 July 2016, Published under Cement News

With newbuilds arriving faster than owners are able to scrap their old carriers, the growing oversupply in the dry bulk shipping market is clear. Higher levels of ship scrapping will be needed to balance the market. Shipbroker Alibra Shipping noted in its latest weekly report that Capesize spot rates seemed to correspond with scrapping activity, with rates increasing in the first seven months of the year, peaking early August and declining from September onwards. It said “owners sold many...

Shipping market set for multi-year recovery

13 June 2016, Published under Cement News

Despite bouncing back from the historic lows seen in February 2016 (290 points on 10-11 February), the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) continues to experience downward trends, as seen in the three-year trend shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Baltic Dry Index, 6 June 2013-6 June 2016 Under these challenging conditions, some ship owners have resorted to chartering their vessels for less than one third of their operating expenditure (not including financing). This downward pressure since end 201...

Freight rates firm up after initial dip

05 July 2012, Published under Cement News

Selected freight market trends 20.06-04.07.2012 The Pacific Handysize market has seen increased activity over the past fortnight with Pacific RV prices firming from US$4900/day on 13 June to US$8850/day on 4 July. TCT Cont/Far East rates rose from US$19,600/day to US$24,150/day. Atlantic RV rates stabilised at a slightly higher level of US$16,750/day.  In the Panamax segment, prices rose in the week ended 20 June, but then fell back the subsequent week, reflecting a lower dema...

Panamax picks up

19 June 2012, Published under Cement News

Handysize rates cooled in both the Atlantic and Pacific basins. RV Atlantic rates fell from US$15,320/day on 30 May to US$15,000 a fortnight later. The slip in the Pacific market was even more marked as RV Pacific rates fell from US$6230 to US$4900/day over the period. However, the TCT Cont/Far East contract provided some good news as it edged upward from US$19,200 to US$19,600. After its recent downward trend, the Panamax market bottomed out during the week ended 6 June recording rates o...