The USG Supramax freight market followed a positive mode this month. There was an overall increase in activity and fresh cargoes across major routes. Players tried to adapt to ongoing volatility and owners attempted to take advantage of demand spikes. Spot tonnage supply looked tight, while great support came from the fronthaul segment with plenty of fresh grain requests, mainly to Japan and petcoke cargo offers to India.
Most shipowners were competing for fronthaul shipments, while not many were ready to go for transatlantic trades and asked for a premium, especially on the East Mediterranean direction, where the market looked very weak. Geopolitical instability triggered intense volatility in bunker prices, forcing owners and charterers to reassess.
Freight rates for transportation of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from Houston to ARA ports with spot laycans are at US$33/t on average. Deals for delivery of 50,000 t of petcoke from Houston to Iskenderun with spot laycans are discussed at around US$41/t on average. Shipping costs for delivery of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from USG to EC India are at US$60/t on average.
Looking forward, the expected influx of ballasters from other regions could push the rates down unless the late May-June cargo offer from USG ports shows an upturn. In the event of cargo volume spikes amid relatively tight tonnage supply in the region, rates could quickly make an upward move.
by Brannvoll ApS, Denmark
