BIMCO: Dry Bulk Freight Rates Still Low Despite Demand Growth

The first half of 2016 has revealed that the dry bulk market is nowhere near balanced as there was a strong demand growth from China, while the devastating freight rate levels over the same period remained strong, according to BIMCO.

BIMCO’s data on seaborne iron ore imports into China, shows a growth of 9.6% for H1-2016 as compared to H1-2015. With seaborne coal volumes shipped into China during H1-2016 being on par with H2-2015, this represents a 5.0% growth on H1-2015. A continued surge in thermal coal imports seems limited, as hydropower electricity generation due to heavy rainfall is likely to squeeze coal consumption yet again.

The devastating freight rates have left asset values for dry bulk ships battered. A 2010-built capesize ship was valued by VesselsValue.com on 1 August 2014 at USD 49.75 million. Two years later, that same ship had lost 57.3% of its value and is now worth only USD 21.25 million. The pain is felt across the fleet; worse for older ships and slightly less severe a drop in value for newer ships.

As 31 million dwt of new capacity has entered into the fleet since the beginning of 2016, the order book is slowly emptying. Currently standing at 110 million dwt, the order book is now down at a level not seen since late 2006, BIMCO said.

“Forget about the order book-to-fleet ratio being at a 13-year low, that ratio is irrelevant. What matters is that the fleet will not stop growing unless an equal amount of capacity is demolished at the same time,” according to BIMCO.

So far in 2016, 23 million DWT has been taken out of the fleet and sold for scrap. This means the fleet, year to date, has grown by 1.1% by early August. This level of scrapping is as expected. Nevertheless, it is still worrying that the level of demolition is not higher. The dry bulk industry is faced with the lowest earnings ever, with overcapacity being the main problem and demolition the silver bullet.

Positive demand growth rates across the board for dry bulk commodities are high, and there is one that is ruling them all – iron ore. In H1-2016 we saw a volume growth of 42 million tonnes of iron ore going into China, compared to a combined volume growth of 12 million tonnes for coal, soybeans and steel products on other Chinese trades.

Increasing demand for iron ore is strong on the best trade lane of them all – Brazil to China, according to BIMCO.

Shipments on that trade were up by 24% to reach 98 million tonnes in H1-2016 compared to H1-2015. Such a development used to mean much higher freight rates, but as 2015 passed, spot rates for capesize ships were only modestly buoyed by volume growth on this trade. BIMCO believes that a significant part of the iron ore has been transported on “Vale’s conveyor belt of Chinese-owned VLOCs”.

If this continues to remove cargoes from the open market, volume growth on the Brazil to China iron ore trade will no longer affect the spot market on this trade nor the general freight market significantly.

For the coming months from September to November, BIMCO expects transported volumes to stay put, as the high volumes transported in recent months may have run ahead of underlying demand.

“Expect the freight rates to move up, down and sideways before moving up again in the fourth quarter of the year,” BIMCO said.