Panamax vessel freight rates have recently increased marginally due to spurt in shipments of coking coal from Australia to India.
The rise in Panamax vessel freight rates could also be attributed to increasing coal imports in China from Indonesia, Russia and Australia that is tightening supply of Panamax vessels.
Shipping freight rates have recently shown some recovery on account of increasing coal imports in India and China.
Current freight rates (coal cargoes)
| Route | Supramax | Panamax |
| Australia to India | 13 | 11 |
| South Africa to India | 11 | 9 |
| Indonesia to India | 7 | 6 |
Freights in USD/MT
Source: SteelMint Research
Current freight rates (iron ore cargoes)
| Route | Supramax |
| India to China | 8.5 |
Freights in USD/MT
Source: SteelMint Research
The Baltic Dry Index was recorded at 726 points as on 21July’16. The index is an indicator of freight rate movement in respect to all classes of vessels transporting all types of commodities, including coal and iron.
Recently, the index underwent a small increment, driven by higher Panamax freight rates.

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