Market analysis
The Chinese ban on coal imports from Australia has shaken up coal trades in the east.
The year 2021 has started in much the same way as 2020 ended for US container imports; import volumes are still surging.
In the first two months of 2021, Brazilian iron ore exports have risen by 9.1% to 53.0m tonnes, driven by China.
Despite low freight rates, very few crude oil tankers have been sent for demolition so far this year.
After a turbulent year, low demand looks set to plague the market in the coming months combined with too many ships fighting for too few cargoes in both the crude oil and oil product segments.
After a down and up year in container volumes, the current logjams in the system and unbalanced trades will take months to resolve, allowing carriers to profit from high freight rates, and tonnage providers to enjoy lofty charter rates.
Related event
Are we soon back at the pre-pandemic growth trend for seaborne transportation?
- 15 April, 2021
BIMCO Chief analyst, Peter Sand, will briefly brief the headlines in their most recent analysis published in their shipping market outlook overview.
Shipping Markets Checkpoint Season 2 - Special Guest: Simon Ward
The first episode in the second season called "Thinking out loud on what's next for shipping".
Simon Ward joins Peter Sand, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO, for an exciting hour of discussion on the SnP and Dry Bulk markets. Featuring both macroeconomic perspectives with questions such as "Looking back at 2020 and putting the present into perspective, was this as expected – at any point in time?" and but also diving into the specific market of dry bulk with questions like "Should we worry or be cheerful about China entangling itself into multiple trade wars?".
Stay up to date
April 2021
Pieces of the changed Eastern coal market puzzle fall into place
The Chinese ban on coal imports from Australia has shaken up coal trades in the east.
March 2021
Imbalance on transpacific trade increases even as surge in US imports eases
The year 2021 has started in much the same way as 2020 ended for US container imports; import volumes are still surging.
China’s one-sided recovery drives iron ore market back up
In the first two months of 2021, Brazilian iron ore exports have risen by 9.1% to 53.0m tonnes, driven by China.
2021 crude oil tanker demolition stalls as second-hand prices win
Despite low freight rates, very few crude oil tankers have been sent for demolition so far this year.
February 2021
Container shipping: continued disruption will ensure carrier profitability well into 2021
After a down and up year in container volumes, the current logjams in the system and unbalanced trades will take months to resolve, allowing carriers to profit from high freight rates, and tonnage providers to enjoy lofty charter rates.
Tanker shipping: a tough year ahead as virus mutations and slow vaccine rollout hampers recovery
After a turbulent year, low demand looks set to plague the market in the coming months combined with too many ships fighting for too few cargoes in both the crude oil and oil product segments.
Dry bulk shipping: strong start to year ends as slow recovery awaits
After an unusually strong start to the year, seasonality has caught up with the dry bulk market. Coupled with a slow recovery in global economic activity, it looks set to be another challenging year.
Macroeconomics: shipping enjoys a higher trade multiplier as 2021 promises a slow recovery
In many ways, shipping managed to dodge the worst bullet in 2020, as the nature of the crisis, its containment measures, and government stimulus around the world meant that global trade volumes were not hit as badly as global gross domestic product (GDP) or other even worse-performing sectors, such as services.
Container shipping emerges triumphant from a disrupted 2020
In the full year of 2020, global container shipping volumes fell by 1.2% compared with 2019, much less than feared even before the pandemic was first declared, and much recovered compared with the 6.8% drop recorded in the first six months of the year.
January 2021
After the party, the hangover is proving drawn out for tanker shipping
Tanker shipping was in many ways the odd one out of the shipping sectors in 2020; at the start of the pandemic, the market was strong, only to finish off the year in the doldrums, while the other sectors stayed profitable.
