Ocean Freight Comments
Transportation and Export Report: Jay O’Neil, O’Neil Commodity Consulting: It was not a very exciting week in ocean freight markets, which is why things slipped back a bit.
The Capesize market lost ground and along with the Panamax sector. The overall market is not yet at the point where it can sustain a rally even though things do point to better/higher markets in 2015.
The forward curve is still positive and owners are anxiously awaiting better times. The only freight markets that are on fire are the North American rail car and river barge markets. As the Fall harvest progresses shippers are paying big premiums for interior transportation.
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 Malaysia.
