Randy Giveans News

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…

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 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.

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

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry commodities around the world, posted its biggest weekly gain ever, underpinned by a rebound in global commodities trading as iron ore demand from China picked up.The 35-year old index, which reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax ships, has now surged nearly 300% since tumbling to a low of 393 points in May following a freeze in global trade due to coronavirus-led lockdowns."Most…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index posted its biggest percentage jump in eight months on Thursday boosted by stronger rates across vessel segments.The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels that ferry dry bulk commodities, jumped 37 points, or 6.6%, to 599, its biggest daily percentage gain since July 04, 2019."The market has started to improve as the supply/demand balance is tightening," said Randy Giveans, senior vice president…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell to its lowest level since April 2016, dragged down by lower vessels rates across categories. The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, dropped 11 points, or 2.0%, to 546 — its lowest in over 3 years.The capesize index fell 30 points, or 18.2%, to 135.The index registered its 32nd consecutive session of losses, touching its lowest level since April 3 last year.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell to an over three year low on Friday, with the capesize segment marking its biggest weekly loss since March 1999.The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 19 points, or 3.3%, to 557 — lowest since April 2016.The index has lost more than 26% this week, registering its biggest weekly percentage loss in nearly a year.The capesize index fell 42 points, or 20.3%…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell for a ninth straight session on Friday, on weaker demand for capesize and panamax vessel segments.The Baltic index, which reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, fell 50 points, or 3.5%, to 1,378. The index was down 18.8% for the week, its biggest weekly decline since February.The capesize index was down by 73 points, or 2.9%, to 2,444, its lowest since June 26. The index was down 17.2% for the week, marking its fourth weekly decline. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, slid to a near two-month low on Thursday, as weak demand for iron ore and lower industrial activity continued to weigh on the index.* The Baltic index, which reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, declined 46 points, or 2.55%, to 1,757, recording its seventh consecutive decline.* The overall index was at its lowest level since Aug. 9.* The capesize index fell 218 points…

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.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships transporting dry bulk commodities, fell for the eighth consecutive session on Thursday, pressured by weakness in the capesize segment.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 73 points, or 5.6 percent, to 1,231 points, its lowest since June 4.The capesize index declined for the seventh straight session, tumbling 221 points, or 11.2 percent, to 1,747 points - also its lowest since June 4.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Tuesday as capesize vessel rates gained for the eighth straight session.* The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 15 points, or about one percent, at 1,570 points.* "US-China trade tensions may have a net-positive impact on dry bulk ton-mile demand," Randy Giveans, vice president, equity research at Jefferies, said in a note.* In the latest development in the ongoing trade tussle between the world's two biggest economies, Ch

The price of shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) has spiked in September and is likely to remain high next year, buoyed by rising production from new plants and concerns that demand for LNG vessels will outpace supply.The rate for vessels shipping LNG from the Atlantic Basin to Asia has jumped to $90,000 to $95,000 a day this week from $75,000 a day at the end of August, brokers and traders said.Rates, which broadly hovered around $30,000 to $40,000 a day from 2015 to 2017, have risen due to longer distances covered to transport LNG from new terminals in the United States and Arctic Russia…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Wednesday, snapping five consecutive days of gains, as rates for capesize vessels slipped to their lowest in a month. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels, slipped 21 points, or 1.73 percent, to 1,191 points. "It's a very tight market now that you're coming off of the Chinese New year. Just a few additional cargoes pop up rates a couple of thousand dollars a day and a lack of those incremental cargoes will drive rates down…

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, 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…