World Trade News

In its August HORIZON Dry Bulk month report, Maritime Strategies International states that against potential optimism from lower interest rates to come, price action in the iron ore market has been flashing warning signs. Prices have dropped about 10% since the start of the month and are now 30% lower than at the start of the year.With the freight market highly leveraged to iron ore flows (the largest dry bulk commodity), the response by suppliers will be critical. While it is…

The BIMCO Dry Bulk Shipping Market Overview & Outlook July 2024 by Niels Rasmussen, BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, anticipates that the supply/demand balance will strengthen in 2024 but weaken in 2025.Supply is estimated to grow by 3-4% in 2024 and 1.5-2.5% in 2025, while demand is projected to grow by 4.5-5.5% in 2024 and weaken by 1-2% in 2025.Freight rates are expected to stay strong during the rest of 2024, but demand could ease amid high inventories among importers. Freight rates are expected to weaken in 2025…

Representatives from Ports of Indiana and Port of Antwerp-Bruges have signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance key economic and environmental port initiatives.The agreement formalizes a plan to work together to advance economic development, container shipping, decarbonization, port security and technology integration.The agreement was a result of past collaborations between the ports, a recent trade mission by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb to Belgium in June, and an MoU between the State of Indiana and the Government of Flanders signed Dec.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the Chamber of Marine Commerce, Canada (CMC), convened over 120 industry leaders from 90 organisations and nearly 30 different countries to the Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit on Thursday 13 June. The summit focused on the challenges and risks to global trade.During the closed-door summit industry leaders discussed the emerging concern of increased protectionism across the world.Emanuele Grimaldi, International Chamber of Shipping…

The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) held an informal public hearing examining impacts from attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on February 7.Opening the hearing, Commissioner Carl Bentzel, voiced concern about safe access through both the Suez and Panama Canals.“What is at stake is severe international economic disruption. The United States is still recovering from the aftershock of the pandemic induced supply chain disruption that that saw 30% increases…

AD Ports Group and the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VINAMARINE), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bolster commercial opportunities across various sectors, including ports, logistics, digital solutions, economic cities, free zones, maritime and shipping.Under the terms of the agreement, both entities will focus on key areas of cooperation, including the development and management of dry ports and inland container depots in addition to advanced logistics operations and digital solutions to enhance global maritime and shipping sectors.

The unwinding of supply chain inefficiencies and rising vessel orders are set to dampen positive deadweight demand in the dry bulk market, according to Maritime Strategies International (MSI).COVID-related supply chain inefficiencies and associated port congestion have almost fully unwound and while the MSI outlook on the prospects for trade volumes this year is considered positive, growth in actual dwt demand is limited to only 0.25% year on year.MSI’s Q3 Dry Bulk market report notes that while this quarter’s demand forecasts for 2023 is higher by one million dwt…

On October 31, 2022, global maritime leaders of tomorrow graduated from the World Maritime University (WMU). The Class of 2022 has received the education required to contribute to maritime and ocean matters in their home countries and more broadly to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Overall, the graduating class includes 276 graduates from 70 countries, and sets a record of 94 women graduates.WMU President Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia…

Between January and April, the number of containers full of cargo (export) fell by 12.72% and those unloaded (import) increased by 6.96%The geopolitical situation, the war in Ukraine, the increase in the cost of energy and the shortage of raw materials are weighing down export activity. Foreign trade in all sectors such as vehicles (-7.68%), agri-foodstuffs (-15.79%), construction materials (-10.55%) and chemical products (-18.14%) fellOn the other hand, domestic demand is growing in most of the sectors that enter through the Valencian docks.