Ocean Freight Comments
Transportation and Export Report: Jay O’Neil, O’Neil Commodity Consulting: The Lunar, or often called Chinese New Year, is this Saturday, 25 January 2020. This is the year of the Rat, the year 4717, and many in the shipping industry may be thinking there is a rat gnawing at the ropes supporting their markets. The spring festival preparations and celebrations will last two weeks, meaning markets this week and next will have light trade volumes. Moreover, as is often noted, quiet markets are not bullish. Both Capesize and Panamax markets are in contango, or as we in the grain trade call it, a carry market, evidence that hope springs eternal. I do not expect to see much movement in next week’s market, and after that we will have to see what the year of the rat brings.
