Firms in Fed’s Beige Book Fret Over Any Lengthy Baltimore Port Closure
(Bloomberg) — The closure of one of the East Coast’s busiest ports after the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge has so far not led to broad price increases,...
The Baltic Dirty Tanker Index, a measure of crude-shipping costs, may reach 1,200 by 2014 or 2015 if owners demolish 15- year-old vessels, Mark Williams, research director at Braemar, said today at the Seatrade Tanker Industry Conference in Copenhagen. The gauge last touched that level in January 2010, according to the Baltic Exchange, which assesses freight rates.
“It seems dramatic, but it’s already happening,” Williams said of the demolitions. The index rose 0.6 percent to 680 yesterday, figures from the London-based exchange showed.
With world oil consumption growing 1 or 2 percent a year, the tanker industry needs to accelerate scrapping to end its slump after owners ordered too many vessels before the global recession, according to Williams. Earnings for tankers hauling refined products won’t recover next year either, he said.
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