Freight markets remain under pressure with limited inquiries, oversupply of tonnage, and sluggish activity across Capesize, Panamax, and Supramax segments, as year-end sentiment weakens further, reports Fearnpulse.
Capesize
On the West Australia front, miners and operators alike were out for mid/end December dates. Overall, the number of players enquiring for freight have dropped since last week. Volumes out of East Australia have ticked up slightly but overall remains very limited. Same may be said for other fronts of the Pacific. For C3 ex Brazil to China, we see limited enquiries for late December with most operators looking at early January dates. On the West Africa front, some enquiries remain for late December, but many seem to have own tonnage behind and seeking opportunities for arbitrage. Far East spot tonnage is heavy. We see a considerable number of prompt ships. Ships on dates are ample as well with more and more forward positions popping up. Ballasting tonnage remains heavy for second half of December. On C5, fixtures concluded at mid/high USD 7 pmt levels by mid-week. On C3, we see fixtures concluding at sub USD 19 pmt levels for end December dates.
Panamax
The Panamax market faced another challenging week, with weak fundamentals persisting across both basins. In the Atlantic, limited grain and coal inquiries from the US Gulf and Baltic, along with oversupply of tonnage and a lack of fresh cargo, kept rates under pressure despite some support from South Africa coal activity. ECSA remained relatively stable, aided by South Africa absorbing spot ballasters, but the overall tonnage imbalance left owners struggling to maintain last-done levels while charterers secured lower bids. The Pacific fared no better, as Indonesian coal and Japanese tenders offered minimal relief against a backdrop of high vessel availability. Bid-offer spreads widened, and rates continued to ease across key routes, with the market searching for a floor and no signs of recovery in sight.
Supramax
The Supramax and Handysize markets remained quiet, with slow activity and mixed views across the Atlantic and the Pacific. In the Atlantic, the South Atlantic felt balanced, the US Gulf rates might have hit the bottom. The Continent and Mediterranean stayed sluggish, with little fresh interest and plenty of ships putting pressure on rates. In the Pacific, things didn’t look much better. Both markets faced weak demand and longer tonnage lists, with no real change in sentiment. As the festive season kicks in, the slowdown seems to be taking hold, and rates struggled to find any upward momentum.
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Source: Fearnpulse
