Dry bulk sector to rebound soon

With the lack of new building orders – at least from Hellenic shipping companies – being evident for one more month during January, shipbroker George Moundreas' latest monthly report indicates that "spring" in shipping could be placed in the "not so distant future".

"Tonnage keeps exiting the market through demolitions, the global orderbook is limited where possible and depending to each company's possibilities, at a time when the market seems to be establishing an upward trend," said Moudreas.

According to Moundreas, some of the smaller yards seem unable to cope with their obligations and deliver their ordered ships, a development that facilitates the whole process of scaling down the huge orderbook. Last week was another upward session for the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which rose by a whopping 168 points at 1316, with the capesize sector returning once again at rising trend at 2380 points.

It was closely followed by all ship types for once again, indicating that the freight market for dry bulk goods could be returning at sustainable levels of rebounding.

According to data from the Baltic Exchange, the average daily timecharter for capesizes stood at $21,810, up by $3,204 from Tuesday, while the relative earnings for panamaxes are now over $8,000 for supramaxes at $7,121 and for handies at $5,181.

In a report Fearnley's said "after a slow awakening of the market after the Chinese New Year, the market has gathered considerable momentum".

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