Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange gains further despite capesizes hit new record low

UNITED KINGDOM March 03 2016 12:24 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities gained further on Wednesday despite capesizes hit new record low of 171 points.

The Baltic Dry Index, which provides an assessment of the price of moving the major raw materials – such as coal, iron ore and grain – by sea by taking in 23 shipping routes measured on a time charter basis, rose further by 3 points to 335 points on Wednesday.

The capesize index shed three points to 171 points, touching a new all-time low.

The dry cargo market reached its lowest point in 2015 and will not recover this year under the weight of overcapacity and the Chinese economy’s transition away from an industrial economy, Danish shipping company D/S Norden said on Wednesday.

The index is based on a daily survey of agents all over the world. Baltic Dry hit a temporary peak on May 20, 2008, when the index hit 11,793. The lowest level ever reached was on Wednesday, February 10 2016, when the index plummeted to 290 points.