WEEKLY SHIPPING MARKET REPORT WEEK 18 - 2 nd to 6 th April 2011 - Legal Disclamer The information contained herein has been obtained by various sources. Although every effort has been made to ensure that this information is accurate, complete and up to date, Shiptrade Services S.A. does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for any loss or damage occasioned or claimed, upon reliance on the information, opinions and analysis contained in this report. Researched and compiled by: Shiptrade Services SA, Market Research on behalf of the Sale & Purchase, Dry Cargo Chartering and Tanker Chartering Departments. For any questions please contact: [email protected]Shiptrade Services SA Tel +30 210 4181814 [email protected]1st Floor, 110/112 Notara Street Fax +30 210 4181142 [email protected]185 35 Piraeus, Greece www.shiptrade.gr [email protected]
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
WEEKLY SHIPPING
MARKET REPORT WEEK 18
- 2nd to 6th April 2011 -
Legal Disclamer
The information contained herein has been obtained by various sources. Although every effort has been made to ensure that this information is accurate, complete and up to date, Shiptrade Services S.A. does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for any loss or damage occasioned or claimed, upon reliance on the information, opinions and analysis contained in this report.
Researched and compiled by: Shiptrade Services SA, Market Research on behalf of the Sale & Purchase, Dry Cargo Chartering and Tanker Chartering Departments. For any questions please contact: [email protected]
Middle East Provided 90.9 % of Japan's Crude Imports in March
Japan imported 117.25 million barrels of crude oil in March 2011 according to the Natural Resources and Energy Agency.Oil shipments from the Arab countries and Iran accounted for 90.9 percent of total imports, the agency at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. Saudi Arabia remained Japan's biggest oil supplier, exporting 37.24 million barrels, or 32.8 percent of Japan's total imports. The United Arab Emirates was second with 28.18 million barrels, or 24 percent, followed by Iran, which supplied 13.21 million barrels, or 11.2 percent. Analysts expect Japan to increase its dependence on Middle East oil in the near future as oil companies are boosting output of heavy oil for thermal power generation, industry officials and analysts told local media. Demand for heavy oil is growing due to Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s efforts to expand thermal power generation to cope with power shortages caused by the shutdown of its tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan. The case looks similar to what happened in 2007, when heavy oil consumption grew after the company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, was shut down as a result of a powerful earthquake. The total amount of heavy oil procured by Japanese power companies in fiscal 2007 that ended in March 2008 jumped 55 pct from the previous year to 11.89 million kiloliters, according to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. Source: PanOrient News
China aluminum plate exports up on fears of rebate cut
The aluminum plate exports from China are expected to remain robust in the Q2 as firms rush deals on fears that Beijing may cut or cancel export rebates that make the shipments attractive when paired with high LME prices. Industry sources said that exports of aluminum plates, sheets and strips made mainly from primary aluminum rose 73% rise in the Q1 of this year. Chinese plates are now offered at a discount of USD 40 per tonne to USD 60 per tonne to cash LME aluminum prices, free on board and at premiums of around USD 20 to buyers in Southeast Asia. Those prices are lower than a premium of around USD 100 per tonne over cash LME prices for spot good quality Western grade primary aluminum in Asia and about USD 113 for the benchmark quarterly premium in the April to June period set by Japanese buyers and Western producers. A trader at an aluminum smelter said that sellers are getting better prices from exports than for local sales. Export prices now are more than CNY 2,000 per tonne above the costs to plants which bought primary metal locally to make plates. Benchmark three month LME aluminum touched USD 2,803 per tonne its highest since August 2008. The price
stood at USD 2,792 at 0449 GMT. But prices in the world's largest aluminum producer and consumer, China, lagged the LME because it produces more than it needs. Chinese prices for spot aluminum have hovered below CNY 17,000 per tonne after hitting this year's high of CNY 16,870 in late February. Source: Reuters
Glencore goes in where others fear to tread
HIGH in the Andes lies one of Bolivia's most prized assets. The Vinto tin smelter churns out 80 per cent of the country's exports of the metal, used in everything from fizzy drink cans to high-end electronics.The price of tin has tripled in the past three years, so when Vinto put several million tonnes up for sale a few months ago, it had plenty of interest. One outdid them all. Sinchi Wayra is one of Bolivia's biggest miners. It paid more than double what Vinto expected and trounced other bidders, including Japanese car giant Toyota. Mining companies wouldn't normally take part in such an auction. Did Sinchi know something its rival bidders didn't? In a word -- yes. Sinchi is not simply a miner, but part of Glencore, the world's biggest commodities trader, which last week announced plans to float in London at a blockbusting pound stg. 37 billion ($57bn) valuation. The bet on tin was the type of trade only Sinchi's parent would, or could, make. Glencore is one of the biggest miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the war-torn country that produces copper, cobalt, gold and tin. Its traders, based in the Swiss town of Baar, spotted early that sales of tin and other metals from Congo had started to slip. Source: The Sunday Times
Atlas to raise Wodigna iron ore capacity
Atlas Iron Ltd has signed an agreement to expand capacity at its Wodgina iron ore mine in Western Australia's Pilbara by 75 per cent to 7 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). That will take the company's total capacity to 9Mtpa as Atlas aims to grow total production to 12Mtpa by December 2012. Atlas said it had entered into a six-year infrastructure agreement with Global Advanced Metals (GAM), which owns infrastructure at the Wodgina tantalum mine site, giving the iron ore miner access to a range of infrastructure including the crushing and screening plant. The miner would pay $35 million towards the building of alternate screening and crushing capacity on the site by the end of the first quarter of 2012 for GAM's exclusive use, Perth-based Atlas said in a statement on Monday. Source: AAP
Capesize: The capesize market experienced another slow week. Continuation of holidays in Europe kept the cape activity in the Atlantic region in low levels, and while monsoon season in the Indian ocean is coming closer, iron ore majors remained inactive. Both factors resulted in cargo availability being unable to exceed tonnage supply. Fronthaul trade slightly improved, concluding to Usd 19.60pmt while in the Pacific the W.Austr/Qingdao levels dropped a bit from Usd 7.90pmt to Usd7.60 pmt, forcing owners to look for alternative trades ex S.Africa / W.Canada in order to secure employment for their vessels. The time charter average improved just a little bit from 6.700usd/day close to 6.800usd/day, but still current levels are below OPEX for most of the operators. Panamax: In both basins panamaxes had a positive week, gradually improving. In the Atlantic, fronthaul trips was the driving force and rates improved with vessels reported being fixed around Usd 26.000 + 600.000bb, while for t/a owners were talking around Usd 14.000 Vs lower the week before. Despite the holidays in F.east, the Pacific trade remained in a positive mood. S.E. Asia positions covered the Indonesian coal, while vessels opening in N.China – Japan range had a choice out of Nopac grains and Australia, with some fixtures being concluded at 13.000 Dop bassis N.china for Nopac r/v. Still, owner keep a low profile and remain skeptical as to how long this trend will last. Supramax: The Atlantic basin was quiet during the beginning of the week, while showed signs of improvement on mid-week. The scrap cargoes out of Continent were one solution, while some owners were struggling to find suitable cargoes for their vessels, leading them to start ballasting. Owners who considered F.East direction could see very high teens Dop Continent for trip via USG. For trips ex ECSA, handymaxes could conclude at high teens + 400k bb, while supramaxes could see low 20’s +400/450k bb, rates that previous week were not there. In the Pacific basin, market remained in the same levels, driven mostly from the Indonesia nickel ore and the coal ex Philippines. Vessels were fixed at mid teens for coal, while those willing to load nickel could see around 17.000, if not even more. For trips ex Nopac some fixtures concluded a Usd 12.500/day, while rumors say that a 55.000dwt vsl/05 built was on subs for 13.900. Iron ore ex India remains in the same levels with a slowing down trend, as monsoon period approaches. Handysize: Atlantic again remains firmer than the Pacific with sugars ex Ecsa to Conti/Med/Bl.Sea leading in front, and paying Usd 40/low 40’s pmt, with a Tce around 12.500Usd/day. In the Pacific region, modern vessels could get around Usd 11.500/day with the majority of cargoes destined to Bangladesh, and some smaller percentage going towards PG/WCI.
Dry Bulk - Chartering
3
Baltic Indices – Dry Market (*Friday’s closing values)