Splash 247 reported on the 8th Tuesday that the volume of dry bulk shipments by sea will exceed 5 billion tons for the first time this year, increase by 3.6% from a year earlier, according to an estimate by shipping broker Lorentzen&Stemoco. Nearly 2.9 billion tons of cargo will be unloaded in China, or about 48 percent of the total.
For global dry bulk shipowners, however, the good news came to an end due to the poor performance of the market this week.
The Baltic Dry Index plummeted 19% this week, only closed at 514 points, of which capesize ship Index fell the most, with average rent at $4858 per day, according to Clarksons Research. Average rent of capesize bulk freight without installing De-SOx scrubber has dropped to $2357 per day according to a report last night.
In the latest weekly report, Shipbroker Intermodal pointed out "The shipowners are still particularly depressed, as charterers are still in control of the market, and any meaningful recovery is unlikely in the short term.
In addition, Allied Shipbroking, an Athens-based shipping broker, warned this week that the average TCE of (equivalent period rent) for all dry bulk carriers had fallen far below what has been declared, leaving shipowners " under great pressure ".
Fearnleys, a Norwegian shipbroker, said that the spot market was "tight" this week, with limited time charter activities.
Finally, researchers from Braemar ACM noted that although they indeed saw an upcoming improvement in freight volumes from Brazil, the company was still cautious about the bull market in 2019 in the coming months.
Braemar ACM stated in a report yesterday, "It is difficult to be optimistic about such a rebound in the face of serious overcapacity and sluggish global demand for raw materials".