Global shipping rates are primed for a wrenching 74 per cent plunge in 2009 as commodity demand continues to fall in Asia and the massive glut of vessels ordered during the boom years finally hits the oceans.
The expected collapse in rates, which could push dozens of shipowners close to bankruptcy, follows a 92 per cent decline in the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) of shipping rates over the course of last year. The misery is expected to continue well into 2010, with a further 15 per cent drop in rates before any rebound brings relief to fleet owners.
Even if (just) 40 per cent of worldwide order books are cancelled this year, the slump in global demand and the sharp rise in Chinese inventories of iron ore and coal, say analysts, suggest that the worst is yet to come.
Iron ore inventories loaded up along the docksides at Chinese ports are thought to have swollen by about eight million tons over the course of February, while the country’s exports of finished goods – the sort that used to fill container ships bound for the US and Europe – continue to fall.
About 10 per cent of the world's 10,650 in-service container ships and bulk carriers are currently sitting empty and at anchor waiting for cargoes that are simply not emerging, said one London-based shipbroker. He added that as many as 500 ships of various types may be put into more permanent stasis...
Japan’s balance of payment figures, released yesterday by the country’s Ministry of Finance, provided yet another grim snapshot of the drop-off in world consumer demand and troubles facing the shipping industry. Exports and imports for the world’s second-biggest economy fell by about 50% in February, with much of the decline due to the collapse in the once white-hot trade movement of components and half-finished goods around Asia.
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43285&Itemid=32
The expected collapse in rates, which could push dozens of shipowners close to bankruptcy, follows a 92 per cent decline in the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) of shipping rates over the course of last year. The misery is expected to continue well into 2010, with a further 15 per cent drop in rates before any rebound brings relief to fleet owners.
Even if (just) 40 per cent of worldwide order books are cancelled this year, the slump in global demand and the sharp rise in Chinese inventories of iron ore and coal, say analysts, suggest that the worst is yet to come.
Iron ore inventories loaded up along the docksides at Chinese ports are thought to have swollen by about eight million tons over the course of February, while the country’s exports of finished goods – the sort that used to fill container ships bound for the US and Europe – continue to fall.
About 10 per cent of the world's 10,650 in-service container ships and bulk carriers are currently sitting empty and at anchor waiting for cargoes that are simply not emerging, said one London-based shipbroker. He added that as many as 500 ships of various types may be put into more permanent stasis...
Japan’s balance of payment figures, released yesterday by the country’s Ministry of Finance, provided yet another grim snapshot of the drop-off in world consumer demand and troubles facing the shipping industry. Exports and imports for the world’s second-biggest economy fell by about 50% in February, with much of the decline due to the collapse in the once white-hot trade movement of components and half-finished goods around Asia.
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43285&Itemid=32