Healthy demand lifts USG Supramax freight market

By Brannvoll ApS, Denmark

The USG Supramax spot freight market showed a considerable rate improvement for all routes as some fresh cargo trickled in for June dates.

There was a limited availability of tonnage open in US East Coast (USEC), attracting some ballasters from the USG and Continent areas.

The market stayed well-supported thanks to petcoke and coal shipments on trans-Atlantic and front-haul routes.

Freight rates for transportation of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from Houston to ARA ports with spot laycans are at US$22/t on average. Deals for delivery of 50,000t of petcoke from Houston to Iskenderun with spot laycans are discussed at around US$26/t on average.

Shipping costs for delivery of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from USG to EC India are at US$50/t on average.

Looking ahead, shipowners are pretty optimistic about developments in the northern part of the Atlantic basin. Positive sentiment seems to prevail while demand continues to maintain its volume. Rates for USG shipments are likely to increase on the back of a shorter tonnage count and decent cargo replenishment in the region.