Prices have settled into a new reality this week as end Buyers get back to buying at levels just shy of the historical peaks seen this year, closer to (and in some cases, just over) USD 600/LT LDT from the market leaders, on high-spec units.
The Pandemic peak
It has been a phenomenal year for the sub-continent ship recycling markets thus far, which has seen prices more than double in the space of the last 12 months, especially as supply starts to dither. At the peak of the pandemic in the middle of 2020, we saw levels in the mid USD 200s/LDT, as markets closed and global trade came to a virtual standstill.
Coming up with the situation
The various ship-recycling destinations across the world learned to cope with and adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic and despite the devastating recent toll the Delta variant has taken, beachings and deliveries have continued unabated for a large part of the year.
Steel plates price peaked
Overall, we see sub-continent end Buyers reaping the benefits of steel plate prices that have been flying to previously unthinkable levels. Not since the boom years of 2008, when deals were done over USD 800/LT LDT, have we seen ship recycling prices quite so firm and there is every indication that this momentum could continue for a bulk of the remainder of this year.
Forward futures on steel predict the markets to be positively placed as well, despite some of the pessimism and nervousness that the recent falls have brought about.
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Source: Gms
