Shipping and Logistics
March 14, 2015
Baltic Dry Index Hits 30-Year Low
Written by Sandy Williams
The Baltic Dry Index hit a thirty-year low on February 23 registering a reading of 512. As of March 11 the index increased to a still dismal 565. The Index tracks shipping rates for dry bulk cargoes like iron ore, coal and grain and is considered a barometer for global steel trade.
The MID-SHIP Group has been reporting for several months that part of rate weakness in the shipping market is an oversupply of ships. In the March 11 Report, MID-SHIP noted that orders for new bulk carriers have fallen off and are likely to continue that trend for the next year or two. MID-SHIP suggests that despite an economic slowdown in China and generally sluggish global growth, the reduced supply of new ships and an increase in scrapping along with slowly growing demand “just might be enough to slowly raise rates as we venture through 2016/17 and 18.”
