Jefferies Analyst News

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…

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.

Another year; another major fleet takeover by Kirby Corporation. But the leader of the inland tank-barge sector is not growing for growth’s sake: a deeper look at the numbers shows a disciplined strategy at work.“Kirby is definitely the big gorilla in the inland barge market,” affirmed Jefferies analyst Randy Giveans. Indeed, Houston-headquartered Kirby Corp has been extremely active buying fleets over the past few years, most recently acquiring the 63 tank barges of Cenac Marine in March for $244 million.

Rolls-Royce (RR.L) said it would exceed its 2020 guidance as it announced new ambitious mid-term goals, sending its shares to four-year highs and reflecting investor faith that CEO Warren East can transform Britain’s best known engineering firm.The maker of engines for civil planes, military jets and ships has been in turnaround mode since 2015. Having on Thursday announced plans to cut 4,600 jobs as part of cost-saving measures, it told shareholders on Friday the foundations…

U.S. government moves to negotiate steel import quotas with its allies in exchange for tariff exemptions could leave them worse off than countries who have to pay the levy.Washington set tariffs of 25 percent on U.S. steel imports in March, but has since granted the European Union, Canada and Mexico temporary exemptions until June 1.It has also agreed permanent exemptions for Brazil, Australia, Argentina and South Korea in return for quotas.South Korea, for example, agreed to quotas restricting its steel sales to the United States by 30 percent…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, surged about 7 percent on Wednesday to register its biggest one-day percentage gain since November 2016, boosted by improving capesize activity. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 72 points, or 6.8 percent, at 1,124 points, the highest since March 26. The index has risen for the eighth straight session. "We are starting to see additional Brazilian iron ore exports…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, registered its first gain in 10 sessions on Friday, buoyed by higher rates for capesize vessels. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 5 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,122 points but was down 1.8 percent for the week. The capesize index gained 28 points, or 2.48 percent, to 1,157 points. "It's a very tight market, so just a few incremental cargoes will prop up rates.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, continued to rise on Monday, supported by positive capesize and smaller vessel rates. The index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, was up three points, or 0.51 percent, at 594 points. The capesize index rose 12 points, or 2.84 percent, to 435 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $33 to $4,207. The panamax index remained flat at 617 points. Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry 60,000 to 70,000-tonne cargoes of coal or grains, slipped by a dollar to $4,940.

At  MarineMoney's New York City event earlier this summer, tanker operators were in a somber mood, and Michael Reardon, Manager Global Strategy and Freight Traiding, ConocoPhillips, was quoted as saying: “Floating storage took VLCCs out of the market and sent false signals to the market ... Don't look now, but things have gotten worse. Yesterday, in an Associated Press report, a Jefferies analyst downgraded shares of Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. and Frontline Ltd., saying the economy won't grow fast enough to stimulate oil production and boost rates for tanker companies by the end of the year. While IEA's decision in late June to release oil from emergency stockpiles reduced and delayed tanker charter rate rebound expectations into the fourth quarter…