Cement News tagged under: freight

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Cement companies asked to unload product from freight trains

08 April 2020, Published under Cement News

Indian cement companies are being asked to unload cement bags from freight trains so they can be used for essential commodities, according to the Deccan Herald. Reports suggest that around 300 trains full of cement bags are lying idle, as the construction business comes to a standstill amid the country’s lockdown period. Since railway officials had waived off demurrage fees and wharfage charges during the crisis, the companies were not losing any money. However, the trains are now in deman...

Dry bulk shipping sees falling freight rates

27 February 2020, Published under Cement News

The first two months of 2020 have seen freight rates for dry bulk shipping fall due to seasonality, higher fuel costs and disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Panamax and Handysize earnings declined to US$3535/day and US$3502/day, respectively, reports Denmark-based global shipping organisation BIMCO. While rates have a history of dipping at the start of a new year, the higher cost of fuel following the IMO 2020 sulphur cap also significantly affected earnings for shipping compa...

Indian Railways introduces surcharge exemption for major commodities

17 September 2019, Published under Cement News

Major commodities transported by Indian Railways such as cement, clinker, coal, food grains and fertilisers will be exempt from a 15 per cent surcharge between 1 October 2019-30 June 2020. Usually, between October and June, a surcharge of 15 per cent is levied on base freight and is known as a busy season surcharge (BSC). Furthermore, a five per cent supplementary charge on mini and two-point rakes has also been waived off. "BSC, which is levied at 15 per cent from 1 October-30 June, has ...

Penna Cement enters freight LTTC with South Central Railway

01 April 2019, Published under Cement News

India-based Penna Cement Industries signed a long-term tariff contract (LTTC) with South Central Railway (SCR) to transport freight at a fixed rate. The five-year scheme will provide long-term stability and certainty in freight tariff rates to Penna Cement. According to the terms of the LTTC, freight rates will remain fixed for one year and if the customer exceeds the previous year’s freight contribution, it will unlock discounts. "It is a growth-linked incentive wherein, higher the freigh...

Investing, improving and incidents

06 December 2018, Published under Cement News

This month is a round-up of global port news, beginning in India. Penna Cement has begun operations at its terminal and bagging plant at Cochin Port, Kerala. Marking an investment of US$8m, the terminal has a cement capacity of 0.3Mta. The first vessel to call at the new facility was the Penna Suraksha, a self-discharging cement carrier delivering 25,000t from Krishnapatnam Port, according to The Hindu newspaper. The vessel can discharge cement at up to 1000tph and is equipped with a shipunl...

Trade war uncertainty reveals cracks

09 November 2018, Published under Cement News

As discussed in the October issue of ICR, better-than-expected dry bulk rates have dampened the scrapping trend as owners cash in on more buoyant times. According to some observers, however, growing uncertainty surrounding the trade war between the USA and China is starting to reveal cracks with rates beginning to weaken. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) slumped from 1774 points on 24 July to 1356 on 18 September, its lowest point since June this year. Baltic Dry Index - three months to ...

Freight rates dampen scrapping trend

05 October 2018, Published under Cement News

Better-than-expected dry bulk freight rates have done little to encourage shipowners to scrap  their older vessels, despite warnings of ongoing market volatility due to a lack of scrapping activity. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) hit 1773 points in the first week of August, compared to 1250 in the opening week of June, making owners increasingly reluctant to ditch their older tonnage. According to a report by Allied Shipbroking, only three dry bulk vessels were scrapped in the latter half of Aug...

FANCESA increases freight charges

24 September 2018, Published under Cement News

From 1 October new freight charges will come into effect at Bolivia’s Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (FANCESA) as it currently prepares individual contracts for carriers. Fo example, freight to Santa Cruz will cost BOB13/bag with the company expected to publish the costs of further markets in the following days.

Owners urged to scrap older vessels

06 September 2018, Published under Cement News

In the three-month period to 17 July 2018, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) rose from a low of 1042 points on 30 May to a high of 1695 on 16 July. Baltic Dry Index – three months to 17 July 2018 Khalid Hashim, managing director of Thailand-based Precious Shipping, which operates four cement carriers, has urged shipowners to scrap their older vessels or face continuing volatility. “If scrapping doesn’t accelerate then the BDI will continue to fluctuate sharply solely dependen...

JT Cement adds new vessel to fleet

20 August 2018, Published under Cement News

Norway-based JT Cement has ordered a new pneumatic cement carrier from Dutch shipyard Ferus Smit. The new vessel will be a sistership to the M/V Greenland and is expected to be delivered in July next year. It will have a cargo-carrying capacity of 8000dwt, which is bigger than the Greenland, and a greater LNG tank capacity at 200m3 to improve steaming time. In June this year, NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC) acquired a 25 per cent share in JT Cement, joining KGT Cement Holdings and Erik ...