The USG Supramax spot freight market was hot during the first half of the month and rates continued a positive push.
Spot/prompt tonnage remained limited, while fresh demand continued to come in. The momentum lasted without a pause in sight in the USG segment during the first weeks of the month, while the United States East Coast (USEC) market looked comparatively weaker and slower. By the end of the month, the USG segment started slowly cooling off. Demand was getting lower than the tonnage supply and wider bid/offer spreads were observed, especially on fronthaul routes.
Freight rates for transportation of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from Houston to ARA ports with spot laycans are at US$23/t on average. Deals for delivery of 50,000t of petcoke from Houston to Iskenderun with spot laycans are discussed at around US$27.50/t on average. Shipping costs for delivery of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from USG to EC India are at US$46/t on average.
A downtrend is likely to outline in USG in the coming weeks as market fundamentals are gradually shifting towards charterers. Thus, charterers continue to push the boundaries and see how far they can push levels down since the tonnage list is getting longer in the region.
By Brannvoll ApS, Denmark
