End of the seasoned downturn’ has been the commentary from Drewry w.r.t the Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) charter rates. A pick-up for rates in the smaller vessel market saw the Drewry Multipurpose Time Charter Index snapping its 18-month losing streak, which commenced at the index peak of USD 11,170. The index has pulled itself marginally to end at USD 8,611 as against the previous quote of USD 8,583, when the prediction for the month was for the index to hit USD 8,511.
A composite index that constitutes various deadweight categories of MPV fleet, the apparent bump-up in shortsea market seem to have been the contributor here. Toepfer’s had earlier maintained an optimistic commentary on the shortsea market despite the indices slipping to multi-year lows.
We had written, in one of our earlier articles, about the stable project cargo demand. This has been a given. However, the Toepfer’s Multipurpose Index that reflects the larger, deep ocean-going 12,500+ dwt fleet category extended its blow, quoting USD 12,572 for October-2023. In the process, the index stands just about 4% higher than the 5-year moving average of USD 12,098. It has also pared two-thirds of its gains registered in the post-pandemic phase.
Our previous article titled “DEMAND EXPECTATIONS PAINT GREEN, MARKET PAINTS RED AS MULTIPURPOSE RATES AT LOW” talked about projections from Toepfer’s for the Multipurpose Index, spread for the next 12 months. With the winter season and holiday seasons coming back, there could be a possible floe-back of loose and mini-bulk cargo subject to the demand scenarios which can avert some decline in rates. Drewry has projected the upcoming quotes to be stable, with a marginal increase to USD 8,634.
Author of the article: Gautham Krishnan
Gautham Krishnan is a logistics professional with Fluor Corporation, in the area of project logistics and analytics, and has worked in the areas of Project Management, Business Development and Government Consulting. He has been bestowed the AntwerpXL 40-under-40 award for the year 2023, as one of the upcoming, future leaders in the project logistics space.
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