Freight market remains depressed

摘要

IN THE past two weeks, panamax earnings have remained in the doldrums, having shown little movement. Average earnings for panamax vessels have declined by 8% since mid-December to stand at just over $4,000/day at the time of writing. Panamax earnings are substantially higher in the Atlantic than the Pacific. An Atlantic round voyage is currently around $4,318/day compared with a mere $1,935/day for a Pacific RV. The panamax sector's weakness in the Pacific basin has been exacerbated by lower levels of port congestion. SSY's Australian Coal Port Congestion Index showed average vessel waiting times of 6.8 days in mid-January. That was down from 10 days at the start of December and represents the lowest level since August 2006.