Ocean Freight Comments
Vessel owners liked the way the week started out but were disappointed with the way it ended. Monday and Tuesday showed promise with daily hire rates advancing from where they left off on the previous Friday. However, by Wednesday, the market lost its support and began to fall back. The reasons for the market’s inability to sustain a rally are all the same as previously reported, the S&D balance simply has not shifted yet.
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 2013 annual totals versus January-February 2014 container shipments for Vietnam.
