Friday, June 13, 2008

Capesized Costs Capsizing

Drybulk index posts largest-ever 1 day drop

The Baltic Dry Index, which measures drybulk shipping rates on 40 routes across the world, sank 963 points Thursday to reach 10,142. The index had wavered, but remained above 11,000, since hitting an all-time high on May 20 of 11,793. The index, managed by the Baltic Exchange in London, had previously posted its biggest one-day skid of 443 points on Jan. 17.

The global growth decoupling theory once again attempts to fend off the dreaded whack-a-mole hammer.

The average Capesize vessel now costs about $180,000 per day, compared with prices of more than $230,000 per day last week.

$230,000? Flip That Ship!

2 comments:

walker said...

I've read figures similar to these elsewhere - I also read somewhere that a typical shipping container now costs about $8,000 to reach the Eastern US by ship. Any clue how much it actually costs per day to run one of these behemoths?

Stagflationary Mark said...

kwark,

I don't know. I did find this article while attempting to find an answer though. Yet another "doom and gloomer" speaks his mind.

Cargo chief warns of Asian slowdown in air shipments
http://www.impactpub.com.au/aircargo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1740&Itemid=60#begin

Julian Keeling, chief executive of freight wholesaler Consolidators International (CII), speaking in Chicago said the "decoupling" of other economies from the US "is more myth than reality".

The entire article is worth a read, if you have any doom and gloomer tendencies (which I appear to have).

"Air freight is facing the armies of the night," he declared. He ticked off these "armies" including "the endless war in Iraq draining the US economy of $1 trillion, a housing wreck costing banks billions and foreclosures to millions, and continuing losses of high paying manufacturing jobs. Looming over these obstacles to a prosperous economy is the catastrophic price of oil, now climbing to $150 a barrel. The unprecedented cost of fuel is reaching into every nook and cranny of American life, weakening the ability of both consumers and businesses to spend and invest, said Keeling.

Other than that, times have never been better though. Long live the Gold 'n Rocks economy.