Steel Export Trade: 101 Guide
Steel export trade can often be in the news for the wrong reasons. Anti-dumping legislation, particularly in the US, gives the impression of a protectionist landscape. As we mentioned in a previous article on US [...]
Does Steel Slump Signal Trouble: Dry Cargo Key Insights
China's leadership is making a concerted effort to bolster its manufacturing sector, particularly focusing on higher tech industries like batteries, EVs, and solar panels. However, this strategy appears to be encountering some challenges. Domestically, [...]
August 2024 Dry Cargo Forecast: Key Insights
Economic News The IMF have updated their World Economic Outlook leaving global growth in 2024 unchanged from the April review at 3.2%. Growth in 2025 is increased marginally to 3.3%. The report concludes that the [...]
US Steel – A Political Hot Potato
The debate over the role of domestic steel in the US has turned highly political. We look at: Controversy over Nippon Steel’s bid to purchase US Steel Tradeviews Perspective The structure of steelmaking in the [...]
UK Steel – A Crisis in Waiting for a New Government
Tata Steel is in a standoff with the Labour Party and unions over the future of the country’s steel industry. We look at: Tata’s plans for UK steel The high stakes poker game in play [...]
Will Agribulk Trade Mirror Food Shortages?
Agribulk trade in Odessa, Ukraine: Loading grain into holds of sea cargo vessel through an automatic line in seaport from silos of grain storage. Introduction The UN’s World Food Programme has warned that [...]
Grain Trade and War
The war has led to the closure of Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Sanctions are starting to block Russian grain trade shipments. Large war risk premiums are deterring bulk carriers from trading out of the Black [...]
Understand Global Cement Trade: 101 Guide
Cement trade in Context Concrete is the world’s most widely used manufactured material. With 14 billion cubic meters produced in 2020, the main uses are in the construction of buildings, homes, roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, [...]
Blip, Blip, Blob – Chinese AIS Receivers Switched Off
In the last few weeks, vessels have been disappearing off AIS systems around the Chinese coast. Apparently, the reason is the commencement of two new data protection laws. They are the Data Security Law [...]
Do Container Freight Rates Impact Bulker Volumes?
The fluctuation of both container and bulk freights rates have led many to assume there is a large volume of bulk cargo that can transition between the two carrier types. For many analysts it’s been [...]
Multipurpose Vessel Insight – Riding High
The Multipurpose Vessel (MPV) fleet is often little understood and a confusing sector. Luckily we have Susan Oatway from Drewry who is an expert. She has just published their quarterly update. Susan has a distinguished [...]
Is winter Coming? The Weather Impact on the Energy Crisis
Long range weather forecasting is never an exact science. Nowadays the boffins at weather organisations have a fair idea how severe a winter can be. They look at various metrics not known to the casual [...]
Don’t Panic! – The Outlook for Energy Supply
We had a strange situation in the UK this week. There was a run on petrol/gasoline. Petrol stations were low on stocks due to a lorry driver shortage. Rather than people using fuel more [...]
Coal’s Last Hurrah?
This year has seen a string of disasters around the globe involving wildfires, drought and flooding. These events have driven environmental concerns up the political ladder and made coal Public Enemy No. 1 for [...]
The Coup in Guinea – What does it mean for Shipping?
The coup in Guinea happened on the morning of September 5th, the capital, Conakry, came under fire. President Alpha Conde was overthrown by soldiers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, head of Guinea’s special [...]
Shipping Decarbonisation – Get the Basics
In our `Learn from the Best` series we interviewed Mark Williams from Shipping Strategy about shipping decarbonisation and the energy transition. In our conversation, Mark talks us through technological advancements, new regulations, [...]
Come gRain or Shine – How Good is the New Grain Season?
Agricultural exports from the Northern Hemisphere's grain season have been facing turbulence under extreme weather conditions. We’ve researched the situation surrounding the coming grain season harvest to bring you an overall picture of the [...]
Jet Fuel Markets Amid the Pandemic
In a constantly moving world, global restrictions due to Covid-19 created intense pressure on the aviation industry. Undoubtedly, jet fuel trade amid the pandemic suffered significant losses. With the first half of 2021 already [...]
Coal is on Fire!
In the last 3 months the coal price has leaped from $90 per tonne, to nearly $150 per tonne at the end of July. This makes it one of the best performing global commodities. [...]
OPEC Decision Brings Optimism For Tankers
Crude oil trade was becoming uncertain amid the recent decisions of OPEC surrounding production levels. Limited supply caused prolonged high prices of oil. Although this was expected to be a transient situation, it was [...]
Is ‘Volatility’ Code for “I Don’t Have a Clue”?
Is the term 'volatility' code for “I Don’t Have a Clue”? When an analyst uses the word ‘volatility’ during a shipping presentation, I can’t help but fear they aren't actually sure what the future [...]
More Than Luck: China Challenges Steep Commodity Prices
There are several factors weighing in on China’s trade influence: pandemic effects, trade spats and last but not by any means least, challenges with high commodity prices. Agriculture imports keep China’s trade healthy, whereas [...]
5 Tactics for Choosing the Right Maritime Software
As a maritime analyst, you want to maximize your analytical ability for your budget. Therefore, you need the best maritime software available on the market. How do you decide on your magical combination of [...]
African Trade – A Slow Burner
Africa exports more than it imports. Whilst African Trade is a slow burner, it's interesting to note where these commodities arrive and depart from. North Africa tends to be the major importer. Whereas South [...]