Ocean Freight Comments
Transportation and Export Report: Jay O’Neil, O’Neil Commodity Consulting: This week’s message is much like a policeman on the street telling people to move on, “there is nothing to see here.” The Lunar holiday is upon us and markets are very thin and quiet. In fact, due to the coronavirus, the Chinese government has extended the holiday for an additional three days (to 7 February) so that people will not rush to travel from home back to work. The Baltic Dry-Bulk index has now fallen to last year’s lows, thereby erasing all grains of 2019. Ocean freight markets are facing the fact that the global economy is flat and possibly facing its first annual drop in a decade. The first year of the new decade looks like it will be particularly challenging.
