Jefferies News

Maersk warned on Thursday that container shipping overcapacity would hit profits more than expected this year and that it didn't see a major boost from the jump in freight rates due to Red Sea disruptions, hammering its shares.The warning, which also led the Danish shipping giant to suspend its share buyback programme, is in stark contrast with investors' recent optimism about the sector.Container shipping companies have been among the best-performing stocks in Europe this year…

Container shipping rates for key global routes have soared this week, with U.S. and UK air strikes on Yemen stirring concerns of a prolonged disruption to global trade in Red Sea, one of the world's busiest routes, industry officials said on Friday.U.S. and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of strikes across Yemen overnight in retaliation against Iran-backed Houthi forces for attacks on Red Sea shipping, widening regional conflict stemming from Israel's war…

The economic incentive to import oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia has closed as the cost of booking supertankers on the route has surged amid a jump in bookings for the vessels, traders said this week.With the arbitrage for U.S. shipments closed, Asian refiners may make up some of the difference with similar Middle Eastern crude oil after top regional producer Saudi Arabia cut their sales prices for February, which is expected to carry over to other regional crudes. The spur…

This week Esgian’s Week 50 Rig Analytics Market Roundup notes developments in the semisub sector including that Shell has decided to exercise its option on Stena Don in the North Sea but not on Deepsea Bollsta in Namibia. Meanwhile, a new contract for the Transocean Barents will see it operate in the Black Sea, and jackup Shelf Drilling Perseverance will move to Vietnam.ContractsShelf Drilling has secured a contract award for the 400ft Shelf Drilling Perseverance jackup rig with PetroVietnam Domestic Exploration Production Operating Company Limited (PVEP POC).

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index .BADI gained for the sixth consecutive session on Thursday, more than doubling in November to hit an one-and-a-half year peak helped by mounting supply of tonnage and cargo demand.The overall index .BADI, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax shipping vessels, was up 241 points or 8.9% at 2,937.

The number of ships looking to pick up grain cargoes from the Black Sea area has fallen 35% this week versus the previous week with growing uncertainty over whether commercial traffic could be hit as Russia continues to pound food facilities in Ukraine.Moscow's direct attacks on Ukraine's grain for four days running followed a vow by Kyiv to defy Russia's naval blockade on its export ports following Moscow's withdrawal earlier this week from a UN-brokered safe sea corridor agreement.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index posted its biggest single-day gain since mid-March on Tuesday, supported by higher rates for capesize and panamax vessels.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, rose 77 points, or 8.2%, to 1,016, its biggest daily percentage gain since March 14.The capesize index jumped 205 points or 17.4% to 1,383 - its biggest rise in over three months.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased $1,704

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Tuesday, aided by higher rates for capesize and supramax vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, gained 40 points, or 2.6%, to its highest in eight weeks at 1,598.The capesize index was up 125 points, or 5.2%, at 2,509 — its highest since Dec. 22.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150…

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index on Tuesday posted its worst decline on record, pressured by waning rates across vessel segments due to weak demand from China amid surging COVID-19 cases.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, lost 265 points, or 17.5%, to 1,250, its biggest daily percentage drop since 1984.The capesize index dropped 626 points, or 27.7%, marking its worst day in more than four months…

The market for old oil tankers is booming, and it's all down to efforts by Western nations to curb trade in Russian crude.As Western shipping and maritime services firms steer clear of Russian oil to avoid falling foul of sanctions or harming their reputations, new companies have leapt into the void, and they're snapping up old tankers that might normally be scrapped.The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, with a fuel import ban to follow in February.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index jumped to a more than two-month high on Tuesday, propelled by gains across vessel segments, particularly the larger capesizes.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, rose 77 points or 4.3% to 1,865 points, its highest since Aug. 1.The capesize index gained 203 points, or about 10%, to also hit an over two-month high of 2,244 points.

Rolls-Royce named former BP executive Tufan Erginbilgic as its new chief executive to replace outgoing boss Warren East, a move analysts say will help drive profits at the British engine maker.East, whose seven years at Rolls were marked by costly troubles with the blades on its engines and the COVID-19 pandemic, will step down at the end of this year, with Erginbilgic taking over on Jan.

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index fell for a sixth straight session on Friday, weighed down by weaker rates across vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax vessels, fell 109 points, or 5.8%, to 1,764, its lowest since early March 2021. The index has lost nearly 23% this week.The capesize index dropped 250 points, or 14.3%, to 1,496, its lowest since late Feb. 2021. The index is down 38% this week.Average daily earnings for capesizes…

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index posted its best day in nearly two months on Monday, boosted by stronger rates across vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, gained 114 points, or 4.1% to 2,881, a peak since Nov. 3The main index marked its highest single-day rise since Oct.

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index climbed to its highest in a week on Monday, helped by improved rates for the larger capesize and panamax vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, gained 93 points, or 3.6%, to 2,645 points, rising for a third straight session.The capesize index rose 274 points, or 7.6%, to its highest in three weeks at 3,884.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $2,272 to $32,210.Steel futures prices in China jumped, with hot-rolled

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index extended losses for a seventh straight session on Monday, as a drop in capesize rates offset gains in the smaller vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, fell by 122 points, or 2.5%, to 4,732.The capesize index fell 409 points, or 5.3%, to 7,358, its lowest since Sept.

The Baltic Exchange's main dry bulk sea freight index rose for a fourth straight session on Wednesday to a 12-year high, buoyed by higher rates across vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, rose 150 points, or 3.4%, to 4,560, its highest since November 2009.Strong iron ore and coal trades are driving dry bulk rates higher, brokerage Jefferies said in a note."Congestion and other inefficiencies related to COVID-19 and geopolitical tensions are benefiting the dry bulk market by removing effective fleet supply," it said.The

Supply chain issues tied to liner shipping have been front page news throughout 2021; just about everyone agrees that there’s a problem. The underlying cause is right out of Economics 101: a surge in demand for moving containerized cargo, in the face of “inelastic” throughput capacity (which includes vessels and their landside interfaces to surface transportation, trucks and rail) that could not handle the swell, attributable to re-stocking of containerized cargo as economic activity recovered from the pandemic induced jolts.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell on Wednesday, as weaker demand for panamax and capesize vessels weighed.The index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, fell 12 points, or 0.4%, to 3,154.The capesize index lost 3 points to 3,841, its lowest since July 22.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of iron ore, inched $24 lower to $31,856.Shanghai steel…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Thursday as capesize vessel rates firmedThe overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, rose 40 points, or 1.2%, to 3,281."Looking ahead, we believe the global economic recovery and infrastructure spending by various governments will drive increased demand for dry bulk commodities, further supporting shipping rates," analysts at Jefferies said in a note.The capesize index was up 150 points, or 4.3%, at 3,649.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore, increased by $1,242 to $30,260.The panamax index dropped 22 points, or around 0.5%, to 4,128, f

The inland waterway system, flowing through the United States heartland, is a microcosm of all that has been happening in 2020: trade tensions, infrastructure issues, shifting trends in fuel consumption and the pandemic that has gripped us since the winter months. Shortly after the initial coronavirus outbreak here in the U.S., maritime workers were deemed to be “essential”, paving the way for cargo flows to recover from their springtime nadir. As COVID-19 infections turned up on U.S. shores, the boats continued plying the waterways, albeit with reduced volumes in some cases.

Long Island-based barge operator Bouchard Transportation has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after several years fraught with legal and financial difficulties.The family-owned oceangoing tug and petroleum barge firm filed alongside several of its subsidiaries Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.According to the filings, Bouchard has between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors, liabilities between $100 million and $500 million and assets worth between $500 million and $1 billion.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index edged higher on Tuesday, helped by gains in supramax and panamax vessel rates, and marked its best month on record.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 5 points, or 0.3%, to 1,799.The index surged about 257% in June, driven by a pick-up in iron ore demand from China, following the easing of coronavirus-led lockdowns in many countries.The Baltic capesize index, which had fallen to -48 in mid-May, eased 5 points, to 4,320.Average daily earni