Ocean Freight Comments
Transportation and Export Report: Jay O’Neil, O’Neil Commodity Consulting: Last week, I stated that ocean freight markets appeared to have topped out for the moment and looked as if they were going to set back a bit. As it turns out; this is just what happened. Markets trended lower all week and again ended the week on a soft note.
I don’t anticipate a much more of a drop in rates but certainly believe that it will be a while before rates will be able to rally back. Vessel owners will have to hope that their bankers are patient.
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 year-to-date 2014 container shipments to Indonesia.
