LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities has fell to below 1250 points on Tuesday led by weaker cape, panamax and supramax rates.
The Baltic Dry Index, which provides an assessment of the price of moving the major raw materials – such as coal, iron ore and grain – by sea by taking in 23 shipping routes, measured on a time charter basis, down by 17 points to 1249 points on Tuesday.
October and November are typically the peak months for the BDI. This comes as grain and soft commodity transportation become a part of the equation as harvest season gets underway and countries and companies stock up on these goods before winter hits in the Northern Hemisphere, slowing down transport.
After November; however, this year, the BDI could see a big pullback if China’s industrial output really does come to a stop to combat pollution during the peak coal burning season.
