The slight increase in freight rates of capesize vessels recently along the Australia-China route has in no way been able to bring in any improvement in the sluggish cargo ship market.
Shipments of coking coal from Australia to China and India have increased recently due to the falling prices of the coal variant; that resulted in freight rates of the cargoes in capesize vessels going up slightly.
The overall cargo shipping industry remained in a grim state with over-supply of vessels against demand. The global commodity trading has gone lower because of economic slowdown in China, which is the largest importer as well as exporter of many commodities, including coal and iron ore.
Current freight rates (coal cargoes)
| Route | Supramax | Panamax |
| Australia to India | 11.5 | 9.5 |
| South Africa to India | 10 | 8.5 |
| Indonesia to India | 6 | 5.5 |
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 on 2 Jun’16 at 606 points. The index did not undergo any notable improvement due to the lackluster demand. The index is an indicator of global freight rate movement in respect to all classes of vessels, transporting all kind of commodities, including coal and iron ore.
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