Dry cargo demand is down 4.1% in September which reflects the period of low freight rates which we’ve experienced. Iron ore has been on the way up with recovering demand from China while global steel flats have been declining throughout the year. Although there is the start of a nasty recession, construction and steel longs have maintained their demand, likely from government infrastructure investments.
Ores and mineral had a strong start to the year but these also have been on the decline as the economy has deteriated. In September they declined 4.6%.
Utilisation has declined but is only just above the early 2020 period when the pandemic started. As October is historically a strong month, then we can see the world economy is in bad shape and commodity stock levels running high, this is set to be a difficult few months ahead.
Coal is the only light in the tunnel and if demand continues to run high amist the global energy crisis then this could generate stability. Winter demand will come down to weather and the start of the European winter has been unseasonaly mild.