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Angela Chao Blog

~ International Shipping and Transportation

Angela Chao Blog

Tag Archives: shipping industry

Are There Too Many Ships in the Sea?

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Angela Chao in Baltic Dry Index

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Baltic Dry Index, dry bulk shipping, global economy, hipping companies, Iron ore shipping vessels, shipping industry

Dry bulk shipping industry’s negative performance is cause for alarm

One of the most watched commodities these days is the Baltic Dry Index. The Index has fallen by 90% since reaching a high in 2008, and in February 2015 we saw the worse performance in three decades.Many ships and yachts in the  Phuket harbor.

In 2008, shipping vessels were earning around $200,000 daily. Today, shipping companies are earning less than half the total amount of their costs. Consider this: capesize rates equate to approximately $4,300 per day, while the daily operating costs are averaging at $6,500. Once all the additional operating costs are included, owners are spending $13,000 each day. Just four months into the year, eight shipping companies have filed for bankruptcy and under present circumstances, more could follow. The question is: why and will things turn around?

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Global Geopolitical Turmoil is not Raising Commodity Prices

07 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by Angela Chao in Dry bulk shipping

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

falling prices, Global Geopolitical Turmoil, growing vessel capacities, iron ore, political economy, shipping industry

iron ore delivered to China

Iron ore delivered to China

One might expect the turbulent political economy to cause a spike in commodity prices but thus far such a reaction to the many global threats has not materialized. In fact, the opposite has occurred as we see commodity prices coming down across the spectrum. The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks prices for 20 commodities fell to its lowest point in four years. Industry analysts point to over-supply and a general lessening of demand for many products, including iron ore and crude oil. WTI is down to $93 per barrel and Brent at $97 per barrel.

Of significance is declining demand for iron ore in key markets. For instance, iron ore delivered to China is at a five-year low and in Australia, iron ore prices fell below $79 per ton. To compound matters, at this time when the market is already suffering from too much supply and tightening demand, the major miners are increasing their production. China’s market has tightened considerably as steel producers have slowed down. Furthermore, according to the China Iron and Steel Association, China’s overall economic slowdown is contributing to the bleak picture faced today by iron ore producers. Major minors, such as BHP and Rio, have reduced their production costs to $20-30 per ton, allowing them to lower prices, serving only to hurt worldwide producers saddled with higher production costs, such as Mexico, China, Iran, Indonesia and Africa. Even Chinese miners are churning out increased product, by as much as 10%, in spite of all the reasons to do otherwise.

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Volatility in economic and political markets – Concern or Opportunity?

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Angela Chao in Dry bulk shipping

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Capesize, falling stock markets, iron ore trading, price fluctuation, shipping industry, slowdown in China, worldwide economic markets

price fluctuation game

For traders playing in the short-term price fluctuation game, where the goal is to reap fast profits, the current world situation is actually more of a plus than of concern

The best one can say at this time is that worldwide economic markets are volatile, with no certain way to predict what will be the immediate and long-term fallout from civil unrest in Ukraine, Russian grab of Crimea, economic slowdown in China and falling stock markets. With the potential for more unrest in the world as the US and Russia sanction each other, the best advice seems to be to hold steady and wait for the various disturbances in trading and prices to settle down. For traders playing in the short-term price fluctuation game, where the goal is to reap fast profits, the current world situation is actually more of a plus than of concern.

Mid-March indices were already showing the impact of the various political and economic instabilities, with the FISE down by 4%, Eurofirst down 4.2%, Shanghai down 2.8%, Nikkei down 3.2% and the S&P down 1.9%. The commodities picture was also interesting, with iron ore trading off by 10.3% and cooper by 9.2%. Brent crude oil was trading down by 3.6% but gold was trading up by 3.1%–with many more worried about China’s slowdown than what will happen between Russia and Ukraine, at least from an economic perspective.

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About Me

Angela Chao
Chairman and C.E.O. of Foremost Group, a leading shipping and trading enterprise, Angela Chao is an active businesswoman who serves on several boards and loves to volunteer. Angela comes from a loving and supportive family of Chinese descent. The Chao family dedicate themselves to serving and contributing to society.

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Recent Posts

  • A Review of Dry Bulk Shipping Performance and Its Challenges in 2016
  • Several Indicators Point to Long-Term Recovery in Capesize Market
  • Is Obsession with Brexit Creating a Blind-spot for Economists?
  • Angela Chao’s Mixed Bag of News for the Dry Bulk Shipping Industry
  • Consolidations in China’s Steelmaking Industry are Healthy and Necessary

Categories

  • Baltic Dry Index
  • Dry bulk shipping
  • Shipping Events

Tags

Baltic Capesize Index BDI Capesize rates China Chinese economy coal imports coal shipping Crude Oil Dalian Commodity Exchange dry bulk market dry bulk shipping dry bulk shipping market freight rates iron ore Iron ore prices iron ore shipping Iron ore shipping vessels shipping industry steel steel industry

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