The shipping industry is still in winter

The rebound in commodity prices has not brought a turning point to the shipping industry. The profitability of the entire industry is “decreasing with each passing day”. The average daily average freight rate of Capesize vessels will drop by 20% this year, and this year it is expected that more than 100 cargo ships will be abandoned due to the industry downturn.

According to data from the Baltic Exchange, as the most important means of transport for the Baltic dry goods, the average daily freight rate of the Capesizes is $4,228, the lowest since the end of 2000. The average daily freight rate of Capesize vessels (including long-term charter shipping rates with less price fluctuations) will fall by 20% to $11,000 this year, compared with the expected estimate of $18,750 per day in February.

Since 2015, China's monthly average coal import volume has reached 17.25 million tons, down 38% year-on-year; the average monthly import volume of iron ore is 76.82 million tons, up 0.6% year-on-year, the lowest growth rate since at least 2000 years.

Last year, China’s coal consumption fell for the first time in this century. The direct effect was that carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in the world last year stopped growing infrequently.

The reduction in coal use is related to the slowdown in the growth of the Chinese economy. In April this year, China’s industrial added value increased by 5.9%, the lowest growth rate since the financial crisis in 2008.