UNITED KINGDOM March 10 2016 11:35 AM    

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main  sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities  advanced sharply on Wednesday driven by improved rates for panamaxes and smaller  vessels.

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  10 points to 376 points on Wednesday.

When the last commodity bull-run  was in full swing, ships were being built at high rates to meet the demand of  transporting raw materials around the globe. When the Great Recession hit,  demand slumped while at the same time new ships hit the market.

The BDI  held up better in that market than it is now, as demand from China for raw  materials as the country embarked upon some strategic stockpiling buoyed the  index even as equities around the globe collapsed.

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.