The USG Supramax freight market had a volatile month. At the beginning of the month, rates skyrocketed on all routes, amid rising bunker prices and increased uncertainty for owners to fix their ships to east Mediterranean or West Coast India directions, due to the tension in the Middle East.
Bunker price volatility and availability meant the forward market was largely dead. Meanwhile, the spot tonnage list grew much faster than the corresponding cargo book, which encouraged the segment to soften eventually. Thus, charterers insisted on lower rates for spot deals, especially on transatlantic directions, since most owners preferred to avoid fronthaul trips and were ready to discount to stay within the Atlantic.
Freight rates for a Supramax-lot of petcoke from Houston to ARA ports with spot laycans are at US$29/t on average. Deals for delivery of 50,000t of petcoke from Houston to Iskenderun with spot laycans are discussed at around US$35/t. Shipping costs for delivery of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from USG to EC India are averaging US$55/t.
The market is expected to come back to life after a month of uncertainty, with demand slowly appearing for late April laycans and more inquiries circulating for forward dates. Owners are hoping for slow rate improvements, but it is too early to count on any significant upward shift.
By Brannvoll ApS, Denmark
