Cement News tagged under: Freight Markets

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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

Dry bulk overcapacity and trade wars

30 June 2018, Published under Cement News

The last three months have seen a welcome recovery in the Baltic Dry Index (BDI). On 7 February the index stood at 1097 points, before rising a month later to 1212 points. This was followed by a fall to 948 points by 6 April, after which the index picked up again to peak at 1384 points by 5 May. The last year has seen a positive turnaround in the dry bulk market but overcapacity remains an issue. According to analysts, S&P Global Platts, around 30 per cent of the existing dry bulk fleet need...

JT Cement orders 8000dwt cement carrier

13 June 2018, Published under Cement News

Norway’s JT Cement AS has ordered a pneumatic cement carrier from Netherlands-based Ferus Smit, according to Erik Thun AB. The ship will be the sister vessel of M/V Greenland and is scheduled for delivery in July 2019. "The vessel will be an improved version of Greenland but with a somewhat larger cargo carrying capacity at 8000dwt. In addition, we will increase the LNG tank capacity to 200m 3 , improving the steaming time on LNG," stated Erik Thun. The project will be handled by MF Shipp...

Long-term rail freight rates secured for Ramco and Zuari

27 April 2018, Published under Cement News

India’s South Central Railway (SCR) has signed a long-term tariff contract with Ramco Cements Ltd and Zuari Cements Ltd to transport freight traffic at fixed rates, according to The Hindu. Ramco and Zuari signed the agreement to ensure fixed tariff costs for three and five years, respectively.  The scheme has been designed to offer customers stability and the capacity to plan logistics for a longer period. Similar agreements have already been signed with UltraTech Cements, India Cement...

McInnis Cement faces rail limit

22 February 2018, Published under Cement News

Canadian cement producer McInnis Cement faces a new challenge in distributing its cement. The Quebec Ministry of Transport is imposing a 10 rail cars/week limit on cement transportation between Matapédia and Caplan due to the dismal state of the rail line. While 90 per cent of its 2.3Mt cement output is shipped, McInnis Cement had planned to increase rail transport of its products to Canadian and US customers to 40 cars per week by next summer. In May 2015 the Quebec Ministry of Transp...

Cebo Marine's ship undergoes upgrade in capacity

16 January 2018, Published under Cement News

Cebo Marine’s cement carrier, 'Lelie C', has undergone maintenance works and an upgrade to its capacity, according to The Motorship. Netherlands-based Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf completed the upgrade which included installing eight new cement silos, each with a 40m 3 capacity. "Two years ago, we installed the original tanks from the Ritske, a vessel belonging to the same client, and now we have repeated the process again, this time on a much larger scale," said Jeen van der Werf, commerc...

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...

Fuel and SOx cap to raise charter rates

09 November 2016, Published under Cement News

In the first weeks of October, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) climbed to 922 points, an improvement of almost 350 per cent on the levels recorded in February. The recent strengthening of the BDI may be a result of changes in the Chinese iron ore and coal markets. Following a government-mandated decrease in domestic production, imports of Australian and Indonesian coal rose by 35 and 56 per cent, respectively YoY in August, considerably supporting the capesize market. However, on 30 September the...

Baltic Dry Index on the road to recovery?

28 September 2016, Published under Cement News

Over the past six months, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) has witnessed conservative growth. Despite a period of decline, the BDI has steadily climbed from 392 in March to 804 in the first two weeks of September. This 412-point growth may be a sign that the demand-supply equilibrium in the dry bulk market is headed for continued improvement by the close of 2016. It was noted by Golden Ocean Group Ltd, a Norwegian shipping company, that newbuild deliveries have fallen short in comparison to ...

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...