Cement News tagged under: Freight Markets
Some good signs in Panamax and Handy sectors14 December 2005, Published under Cement NewsDespite the fact that Cape rates fell last week, there is so far no sign of a global and harsh collapse of the market as Panamax and Handymax rates did not take the same direction. The "war of information" which now seems to have been declared between iron ore producing countries and importers is taking its share in this muddle, with huge discrepancies between each side’s evaluation of what could be the level of trade next year. However the question is more how much trade will grow next year... |
Stronger signs in Panamax sector08 December 2005, Published under Cement NewsDifficult to see where the market is going with mixed signals still the order of the day, unusual times, particularly in the heart of the winter period when things are usually a bit more obvious. In the raw material price negotiation game this week China has sent messages saying that the pressure on supply could be lower next year as they see a huge steel production surplus for 2006 and that local coal output that will be enough to satisfy the domestic demand next year. The Panamax market... |
Dry bulk stability despite rate falls24 November 2005, Published under Cement NewsWhile most rates had taken a southbound direction by mid week, pessimism does not seem to have spread out as far as the whole industry. One significant announcement has been made this week by a major Japanese shipping player which plans to re-equilibrate its business portfolio between liner shipping and dry bulk cargoes increasing the share of the latter. This is a rather strong message from which we can understand that somewhere dry bulk shipping will offer more stability and better prospec... |
Markets still lack direction17 November 2005, Published under Cement NewsDespite some improvement on the Capesize front the dry bulk market is still lacking direction particularly if we compare it to last year during the same period when rates were rocketing towards unprecedented levels. No clear direction either arising from the news this week either, except the follow up of the huge restructuring of Chinese coal mines, which will lead to the shut down of at least 4000 production units before the end of this year. So far 12,148 coal mines have been ordered to ha... |
Activity levels down07 November 2005, Published under Cement NewsIn a market that lacks direction, the news coming from China is also playing on shipping players’ nerves. First the lobbying body of local steel makers, the CISA, announced that 48 producers "plan to cut their production by 5 percent in the fourth quarter in a bid to avoid the further falling of steel prices", which means that the rebuilding of iron ore inventories could be weaker than expected. Then on the grain front, the Chinese 05/06 wheat crop will be better than expected and will reduc... |
Activity levels down03 November 2005, Published under Cement NewsIn a market that lacks direction, the news coming from China is also playing on shipping players’ nerves. First the lobbying body of local steel makers, the CISA, announced that 48 producers "plan to cut their production by 5 percent in the fourth quarter in a bid to avoid the further falling of steel prices", which means that the rebuilding of iron ore inventories could be weaker than expected. Then on the grain front, the Chinese 05/06 wheat crop will be better than expected and will reduc... |
Market declines in evidence26 October 2005, Published under Cement NewsMore ships in the short term but more cargoes in the longer term. Rates have been dragged down this week by a list of prompt ships becoming longer than the number of stems to cover, particularly in the Cape and Panamax segments. This market correction took almost everybody by surprise but the list of tonnage was already shortening by the end of the week. Last week, Panamax followed the Cape trends with BPI decreasing by 11 per cent. Transatlantic r/v lost around 12 per cent at US$21,431 p... |
Some more signs of winter rate rises14 October 2005, Published under Cement NewsDespite rather normal volumes on the market this week people are getting a bit nervous as rates, however, have been on the rise, which could signal a stronger winter upturn than initially expected. On the industry front, steel makers and miners are preparing themselves for a cut-throat battle on the iron ore price settlement for 2006. The supply side can argue that demand is still rising strongly with Chinese steel production growing 25 per cent a year, but steel mills can put in the balanc... |
Mixed signals from the markets07 October 2005, Published under Cement NewsAfter both the Atlantic and Pacific Capesize markets softened a little bit, there were, however, some signs at the end of last week showing for a slightly stronger trend this week, especially within the Pacific, despite Chinese holidays. The market lost almost US$2,000 average on the index time charter routes settling at around mid US$44,000 level at the end of the week but most routes turned positive the last trading day mainly within the Pacific. Apart from some short period and one 168,00... |
Winter months point to higher freights30 September 2005, Published under Cement NewsBy the end of the week, while dry bulk markets have started marking a pause in the quite strong rise they’ve enjoyed over the last three weeks, players prepare themselves to further rise in freight rates as most indicators speak so far in favour of another hot winter. To reinforce this feeling China’s authorities have announced this week, just after the publication of enthusiastic growth figures for Asia as a whole by the IMF, that they see their economy growing 9.2 per cent in 2005 and exp... |