Ocean Freight Comments
Transportation and Export Report: Jay O’Neil, O’Neil Commodity Consulting:
The first two weeks of 2014 have not been good from a vessel owner’s perspective. All four vessel indices have trended lower and firm demand support has not yet surfaced. Iron ore shipments to China have slowed, Indonesia Bauxite exports have declined and now Colombia has placed restrictions on coal exports. This has not been good for vessel demand and has created a buyers’ market.
With Chinese economic growth still slowing, the next hope for market support will have to come from the South American grain and oilseed shipping season that is slowly getting underway.
Below is a recent history of freight values for Capesize vessels of iron ore from Western Australia to China:
The charts below represent January-December 2011 and January-December 2012 annual totals versus January-September 2013 year-to-date container shipments for China.
