FREIGHT RATES SET TO EASE IN NEXT FEW YEARS New shipping capacity expected to exceed growth in demand

摘要

According to the leading international shipbroker and consultant Galbraith's Ltd,the worldwide dry bulk freight market is set to grow at an average rate of 2.5% to 2010,in line with demand,and fleet capacity is likely to grow by 24% over the same period.It is estimated that there will be growth in demand of 3.5% for 2006,with growth declining slowly over the remainder of the period,equating to a total growth of 335 million t/y.Iron ore(100 million t),steel products and steam coal account for 235 million t of this growth,with demand for iron ore and steam coal growing by more than 7.5%.Total demand for dry bulk freight is forecast to grow from 2,689 million t in 2005 to 3,024 million t in 2010.