Scorpio Bulkers Inc

Iron ore port inventories have been steady. For the week ending August 14, inventories were 81.5 million tons—an inventory-to-steel production ratio of 1.23x.

China’s real estate climate index has been below 100 since October 2011. A slowdown in the Chinese real estate industry is negative for the iron ore import trade as well as for dry bulk shipping.

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

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.

Of the 12 analysts covering Navios Maritime Partners, two analysts have “buy” recommendations, seven have “hold” recommendations, and three have “sell” recommendations.

If dry bulk demand picks up, Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) with its large fleet would be in a position to capitalize on the upswing.

China’s iron ore port inventory has been declining consecutively for the past five weeks. For the week ending September 18, inventories stood at 80.55 million tons, according to the data collected from 44 ports in China by SteelHome.

Trading at a market cap of $1.84 billion, the company records a dividend yield of 3.71% and a beta of 1.79.

The iron ore inventory levels at Chinese ports can impact purchasing decisions. When the Chinese market (MCHI) rises, shipping stocks tend to rise as well.

China’s real estate climate index was at 93.34 in October. China’s real estate climate index has been on a broad downtrend since February 2013.

Dry bulk shipping vessel values usually show the expectations of future freight rates. Newbuilds’ rates gauge the long-term fundamentals.

While India could provide temporary relief to dry bulk shippers, its increasing domestic coal output doesn’t bode well for seaborne coal trade.

The BDI (Baltic Dry Index) fell for 21 straight sessions to an all-time low of 498 on November 20. This is the lowest value since the BDI started recording in 1985.

China’s iron ore imports in September were the highest level of 2015 at 86.1 million tons. This was a rise of 1.7% year-over-year and 16.2% month-over-month.

The Baltic Dry Index has fallen 15.7% in the first 26 days of October. This is after a 1.2% fall in the month of September. Most of the fall is due to the Capesize rates decline.

For the first eight months of 2015, China’s coal imports have fallen by 31.4% YoY (year-over-year). In August, China imported a total of 17.5 million tons of coal—a decline of 17.7% month-over-month.

Newbuild vessel prices for all of the ship sizes remained constant in July 2015—compared to June 2015—according to data from Athenian Shipbrokers.

Navios Maritime Partners has maintained dividend yields above those of the broad MLP universe and energy MLPs.

China’s iron ore imports in June came in at 74.96 million tons, 5.8% higher than the previous month and 0.5% higher than a year earlier.

When inventory levels are low, importers may restock, which would encourage iron ore shipments. However, when inventory levels are high, importers are likely to postpone new orders.

Activity in the newbuild space is slowing down considerably, and faltering commodity demand in China is leading to negative sentiment toward the dry bulk shipping industry.

Though the Baltic Dry Index has improved in the last two months, industry experts still believe that oversupply and weak demand growth will keep the BDI down for another year or so.

Auto sales in China fell by 2.3% year-over-year in June to 1.8 million vehicles. China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers has also lowered its estimate for auto sales growth in 2015.

The BDI (Baltic Dry Index) is a leading indicator for the bulk shipping industry. It rose for nine consecutive days to reach a level of 779 on June 19.

China consumes close to two-thirds of the global seaborne iron ore. In 2014, China imported 932.5 million tons of iron ore—13.8% more than in 2013.

The Baltic Dry Index is a leading indicator for the bulk shipping industry. It tracks a number of shipping routes and the transportation costs.

Perhaps as a sign of confidence that dry bulk shipping companies will do well, Soros Management increased its position in the industry during the fourth quarter of 2013.