Shipping and Logistics

April 8, 2016
Logistics Update Mid-April
Written by Sandy Williams
The ocean bound freight market had a bit of good news last week—the Baltic Dry Index rose to 517 on April 7 and closed the week out on April 9 at 539, nearly an 86 percent increase from mid-February’s historic low of 290.
MID-SHIP Report says a celebration is not yet warranted since the BDI was at 2299 in December 2013. The improvement is due to in part to aggressive vessel scrapping. According to MID-SHIP, a record 14.2 million deadweight of dry bulk vessels were scrapped in Q1 2016. Demand has increased slightly as has commodity prices in oil, iron ore, copper and coal. The start of the grain season in the Southern hemisphere has also added to seasonal strength.


