Ocean Freight Comments
Transportation and Export Report: Jay O’Neil, O’Neil Commodity Consulting: There was no relief for vessel owners this week. The Baltic exchange indices fell further and the physical market followed. Trading volumes picked up a bit, but aside from the Capesize market the added activity was all at lower levels. In grain freight markets, we are in that transitional time between big South American corn and soybean shipments and the advent of the North American fall harvest. Export vessel lineups in the U.S. Gulf and PNW have slipped back from previous weeks but should soon ramp up as the harvest gains momentum.
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 2014 annual totals versus year-to-date 2015 container shipments to South Korea.
