Cement News tagged under: Freight Markets

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Dry bulk freight market lifts on capesize advance

30 August 2013, Published under Cement News

The dry bulk freight market appears to be picking up as capesize vessels are reported to leading the uplift. The Baltic Dry Index has started to show some improvement although it slipped slightly from 1156 to 1146 in the week ended 28 August 2013. However, progress in other market segments has been more muted. Strong iron imports into the China are bolstering the capesize market as the commodity is responsible for around one-third of capesize shipments and China represents two-thirds of t...

Quiet handysize and panamax markets, capesize promising

05 August 2013, Published under Cement News

Traditionally a more quiet time of the year, the freight market does not delivery any big surprises. Handysize and panamax markets see available shipping capacity outnumber actual cargoes. In the capesize market, charters are improving. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) slipped in July but still enjoys a much better level than last year. In terms of handysize shipments, the Pacific market is still fairly quiet. Only a few coal shipments were noted as the Ramadan period continues. Pacific RV rate...

Freight prices to receive triple boost

11 March 2013, Published under Cement News

As an oversupply in shipping capacity continues to plague the dry bulk freight market market with the Baltic Dry Index bumping along the bottom, there may be some signs of improvement. Higher forecast demand for commodities combine with reduced deliveries of new vessels and higher scrappage rates to support freight prices although a sustained recovery cannot be expected in the short term, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) research. Persistent oversupply in capacity is bei...

Low Paraguay river makes INC clinker transport difficult

23 November 2012, Published under Cement News

The low levels of the Paraguay river are making transport of clinker more difficult. The current water level is adding 20% to the clinker transport bill of Industria Nacional del Cimento (INC), according to its president, Carlos Krüssel Llano. INC produces clinker at Vallemí and then ships it to its Villeta grinding unit. However, the company’s president assured that Villeta currently has a good stock of clinker and that it would have no difficulties supplying the market with the necessar...

Sharjah Cement Factory signs MoU with Etihad Rail

21 November 2012, Published under Cement News

UAE’s Sharjah Cement Factory has signed a memorandum of understanding with Etihad Rail which will enable the cement producer to transport more than 5Mta of cement and raw materials, more than half the company’s current logistic requirements. The agreement will offer Sharjah a freight solution that will reduce transport costs and improve efficiency by allowing the use of a mode of transport that is safer and more environmentally-friendly than trucks. Ahmad Abdalla Al Noman, chairman of ...

India’s cement transport by rail falls 11.8 per cent

26 September 2012, Published under Cement News

A rise in freight charges has seen a drop in cement volumes carried by Indian Railways. In August, cement volumes carried by rail fell 11.8 per cent YoY to 7.52Mt as rail fares saw an increase of as much as 24 per cent.  The Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) said the decline was prompted partly by the rise in freight rates, although the general decline in the cement market also contributed.  In addition, the cargo does not have to be transported across long distances. "Today, a la...

Atlantic basin rates fall but Capesize provides positive note

20 September 2012, Published under Cement News

After hitting a new record low for the year at 661 on 12 September, the Baltic Dry Index edge up again to 772 one week later. Dahlman Rose attributes the increase to “modestly higher” Capesize rates. "Considering the downwards pressure currently in Chinese steel prices, we do not expect a significant boost to rates in the near term," Dahlman Rose strategists Omar M Nokta and Damien Fortune said in a note to clients.    The Handysize market followed the general trend in the Atlantic basin...

End of holidays provides varied freight pricing

06 September 2012, Published under Cement News

The end of the holiday season in various parts of the world provided the freight market with a varied mix of price trends. In the Handysize market prices appeared to be stabilising somewhat in both basins but with Pacific rates recovering slightly faster. RV Atlantic contracts rose from US$7700/day on 22 August to US$7900/day a week later but then lost modest ground to US$7825/day, according to Fearnleys Research. Meanwhile, its Pacific counterpart made steady gains, rising from US...

Dry bulk rates continue summer slip

22 August 2012, Published under Cement News

The Baltic Dry Index continued its downward trend of the past  month, falling to 728 on 15 August and reflecting the latest developments in the dry bulk markets. The summer break saw Handysize rates plunge further. In the Atlantic Basin, the round voyage rate fell 30 per cent from US$11,500/day to US$8000/day between 1-15 August. Price cuts in the Pacific were more modest as the Pacific RV counterpart contract experienced a 19 per cent decline from US$7750 to US$6250. The TCT Con...

Shipping rates soften across the board

02 August 2012, Published under Cement News

With summer activity on the low side, shipping rates generally softened for Handysize, Panamax and Capes, both in the Atlantic and Pacific basins. With a more or less inactive Atlantic market, prices for charters were significantly more affected in the western hemisphere, noting rate decrease of up to a third. The Pacific held up better with declines ranging in the 6-16 per cent bracket. In the Handysize segment RV Atlantic charter rates fell by a quarter to US$11,500/day over the ...