DryShips Inc

On November 1, ship orders for all key dry bulk vessel classes fell. Ship orders reflect managers’ expectations of future supply and demand differences.

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NMM) is less sensitive to shipping cycles due to its long-term charters and staged expirations.

Because reporting entities sometimes like to dress their numbers up a bit to look nice, analysts also look at electricity output—where government officials say they don’t have much incentive to cook the numbers.

Continued from Part 2 Ship construction activity Part 2 of this series explains how ship orders can illustrate managers’ expectations for future supply and demand differentials. But new ship orders don’t always translate into new constructions right away. Sometimes, shipping firms specify a particular date of delivery for the new orders. If the delivery date is farther […]

China buys around two-thirds of the world’s iron ore—iron ore supply in China outpaced demand by 52 million tons in the first half of 2014, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (or CISA).

In a highly commoditized industry like the shipping industry, capacity is an important metric that directly impacts companies’ top line, or revenue performance. When capacity grows faster than demand, competition will rise among individual shipping firms as they try to utilize idle ships and cover fixed costs. This will lower day rates, which will negatively […]

The BDI (Baltic Dry Index) is a leading indicator for the bulk shipping industry. It’s a measure of the cost of shipping major bulk commodities on a number of shipping routes.

As long as developers continue to snatch up land, more iron ore and coal will be needed at steel mills, which is generally positive for dry bulk shippers.

The year 2013 was characterized by significant expansion of Diana Shipping Inc.’s (DSX) fleet, as the dry bulk shipping industry turned a corner.

Managers remain optimistic From September 13 to 20, ship orders for Capesize vessels fell by 0.25%, from 10.53% to 10.28%, as a share of the existing number of ships. Orders for Panamax improved from 15.34% of existing ships to 15.87%, while those for Supramax were up slightly, rising 0.04% to 4.64%. Analysts use a percent […]

Taking out 2012’s high is important because it reflects tighter supply and demand dynamics than last year, which means higher revenue and earnings from Capesize vessels this year compared to 2012.

While Navios Maritime Partners (NMM) is less sensitive to shipping cycles because of its longer-term contracts and staged expirations, it’s still subject to market rates when contracts roll over.

China imports almost 60% of the world’s seaborne iron ore while its coal trade accounts for almost a quarter of the global trade.

Investors can look forward to higher Capesize rates during the second half of this year compared to the first half, which is positive for dry bulk shippers.

China accounts for a major share of dry bulk commodities’ imports and exports. In the past three months, the Guggenheim Shipping ETF (SEA) dropped 6.1%.

From August 23 to 30, shipping rates for Panamax, Supramax, and Capesize vessels stood relatively unchanged.

China’s iron ore import data China’s iron ore import is a key driver of shipping demand, making up more than 75% of the world’s total iron ore shipments. So China’s import rising is positive for shipping rates—Capesize vessels in particular—which can give short-term support to share prices and a medium-term boost to companies’ financials. While […]

Update to Must-know: Shipping companies hit by China’s financial woes The impact of China’s financial industry The financial industry is an essential part of any economy. Without a stable financial system—one that supplies liquidity to businesses and individuals and bridges the gap between savers and borrowers—an economy can’t function as efficiently and productively as it […]

China’s steel output China’s steel output is a leading indicator of iron ore and coal demand. When steel output declines, the fall is often due to adjustments to weaker demand. As China makes up 70% of the world’s total iron ore imports, lower steel output will translate to fewer iron ore imports. This will hurt […]

The Baltic Dry Index (a benchmark that reflects the overall shipping rate for transporting dry bulks such as iron ore, coal, and grain across the ocean) has fallen quite a bit since the start of the year.

The impact of China’s financial industry The financial industry is an essential part of an economy. Without a stable financial system—one that supplies liquidity to businesses and individuals and bridges the gap between savers and borrowers—an economy can’t function as efficiently and productively as it could. So, a collapse in the financial industry would grind […]

Why is capacity important? Capacity is an important factor that directly impacts companies’ top line (revenue) in a highly commoditized industry, like shipping. When capacity grows faster than what’s demanded, competition rises among individual shipping firms as they try to use idle ships and cover fixed costs. This lowers day rates, which negatively affects bottom […]

It’s been a while since the dry bulk shipping index has had such as large impact on the share prices of shipping companies. This reflects the fact that the market wasn’t really expecting such an increase.

Many market participants are forecasting a further fall in coal imports for China in 2016.

Because the month-to-month data can contain short-term statistical noise that doesn’t reflect long-term fundamental changes, a six-month change or year-over-year change is often used.

Dry bulk shipping companies lag behind economic recovery Despite the U.S. stock market surpassing its 2008 highs recently, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index hitting 15,464.30 and S&P 500 hitting 1,680.19 as of July 12, 2013, dry bulk shipping companies have done poorly. These companies primarily transport raw materials such as iron ore, coal, and […]

The two main markets for shipping companies, such as DryShips Inc. (DRYS), Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX), Navios Maritime Partners LP (NMM) and Safe Bulkers Inc. (SB), are spot (voyage) and time charter (period). Companies that engage in the spot market will charge a one-time fee that customers pay to have a certain amount of goods […]

China’s power consumption in August was 502.5 billion kilowatt hours (or kWh). This was a decline of 1.5% from the levels last year.

In a highly commoditized industry, like the shipping industry, capacity is an important metric that directly impacts companies’ top line, or revenue performance. When capacity grows faster than demand, competition will rise among individual shipping firms as they try to utilize idle ships and cover fixed costs. This will lower day rates, which will negatively […]

The dry bulk shipping industry is cyclical mainly due to economic or business cycles as well as a long lead time between the placement of orders and the delivery of new vessels.

Ship orders apply most to long-term investments Ship orders reflect managers’ assessments of the industry’s future demand and supply balance. Dry bulk shipping companies will often place new orders when future demand is expected to increase more than supply, on the condition that they expect to generate profits with new vessels.[1. Dry bulk shipping companies […]

The dry bulk shipping industry’s service is commoditized. So, supply and demand balance is one of the most important drivers for dry bulk companies’ top- and bottom-line performances.

Why should you watch ship purchase prices? Purchase prices for ships are often good indicators of financial health in the shipping industry. When shipping demand grows more than the supply of ships, shipping companies place additional orders, which drives up purchase prices. Additionally, when firms are able to charge higher prices for transporting goods across […]

Commodity prices and shipping Commodity prices are leading indicators of an economic cycle. Because suppliers of raw materials require time to ramp up production, an increase in demand during an economic expansion will often lead to higher prices. As a result, commodity prices correlate highly with shipping. Iron ore prices On July 25, the price […]

Supply and demand drives dry bulk shipping companies Unlike imports data that aren’t widely available on a weekly basis, shipping rates (which reflect the difference in supply and demand) are collected daily at the London-based Baltic Exchange and published as the BDI (Baltic Dry Indexes). These indexes reflect the daily shipping rates to transport key […]

The Baltic Exchange Dry Bulk Index (BDIY) is a composite of rates for different ship sizes factoring in the average daily earnings of capsize, panama, supramax, and handysize dry bulk transport vessels.

Navios Maritime Partners (NMM) seems like a good way to play the current weak dry bulk market. It has an upside in case of an eventual recovery.

For Diana Shipping, contract rollover is a near to medium-term risk. Among its Capesize fleet, almost all of the 12 contracts will expire within about a year and a half.

Numerous factors like world economic growth and commodity supply and demand affect the dry bulk shipping industry.

The price of a Panamax ship depends on two factors: the amount of cash the ship can generate within its useful life and the cost of steel.

Diana Shipping’s investment strategy is to preserve the strength and integrity of its balance sheet and gradually increase its leverage as asset values weaken.

Ship orders reflect managers’ assessments of the industry’s future demand and supply balance. Dry bulk shipping companies will often place new orders when future demand is expected to increase more than supply, on the condition that they expect to generate profits with new vessels.[1. Dry bulk shipping companies engage in the transportation of dry raw […]

Continued from Part 9 Why should you watch ship purchase prices? Purchase prices for ships are often good indicators of financial health in the shipping industry. When shipping demand grows more than the supply of ships, shipping companies place additional orders, which drives up purchase prices. Plus, when firms are able to charge higher prices […]

China’s steel production mills are reluctant to reduce output for fear credit could be cut off and market share captured by rival producers.

Despite a decline in fuel prices, the Baltic Dry Index has recorded an approximate 40% drop since the start of November and a 62% decline year-to-date.

SB has paid six additional new eco-design newbuild vessels on order.

Continued from Part 1 The importance of ship orders One measure that reflects managers’ expectation of future supply and demand differences is the number of ships on order. When managers expect future supply to increase more than demand, they refrain from purchasing new ships. However, when they expect demand to outpace supply growth, companies return to […]

Because China is the largest importer of raw material in the world, China’s manufacturing is a key driver that affects shipping demand and rates.

During the quarter, Safe Bulkers operated 31 vessels with a time charter equivalent rate of $11,642—compared to 26 vessels with time charter equivalent rate of $17,116 during 2Q13. The weighted average time charter equivalent of the Baltic Panamax (or BPI) and Baltic Capesize (or BCI) indices stood at $6,846 for 2Q14.

The recent volatility we’ve seen among dry bulk shippers can scare people into thinking they should trade in and out of the stock.