Baltic index firmer, demand for small ships rises

eshiptrading

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, rose for a fourth session on Wednesday, helped by grains and coal demand carried on smaller vessels.
The index rose 0.77 percent to 1,302 points.
"The BDI gained 10 points today, driven by strong performance in the panamax market," Dahlman Rose & Co said.
The Baltic's panamax index .BPNI gained 5.52 percent, with average daily earnings rising to $13,185. Panamax vessels usually transport 60,000-70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains.
Floods and cyclones in Australia in February had hit coal production, and some producers are still struggling to return to normal operations, hurting capesize activity. Weather-related and logistics problems at Brazilian ports have also disrupted iron ore shipments from there.
Brokers said an expected strengthening of iron ore imports into China in the second quarter was likely to provide modest support as the freight market continued to struggle with rising fleet growth.
The main index has fallen by over 25 percent this year as rising ship supply has outpaced demand for commodities.
The Baltic's capesize index .BACI fell 0.76 percent, with average daily earnings inching lower to $6,545 after making modest gains on Tuesday. Capesizes typically haul 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.
"The misery continues," broker Fearnleys said. "The crisis caused by the unprecedented flow of newbuilding (capesize) deliveries is now being ever more felt on the cross-trades."
The Baltic's main index, which tracks the cost of shipping key commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain and coal, has more than halved in the past six months to below 1,500 points, close to levels last seen during the financial crisis in 2008.
While there are indications of some vessel cancellations and delays, analysts expect deliveries to gather pace between 2011 and 2012, putting further pressure on dry bulk earnings.
"We believe the dry bulk shipping market is likely to remain challenging for the foreseeable future, given the significant number of new shipyard deliveries," said securities and investment bank Jefferies in a note.

水木呀

我还需要加油，上面的单词不是完全认识。

eshiptrading

回复 2# 水木呀


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