Tradewinds: Now is the Time to Take a Breather

“It is suitably ironic that freight rates in the dry-bulk sector should have a serious downward wobble just as a survey is released showing shipping confidence is at close to record highs. The scares in the bulker market follow wider concerns after a downturn in Chinese spending and deeper worries about the global economy and overtonnaging. Yet the latest confidence poll from accountant Moore Stephens covering the past three months shows supreme bullishness across the shipowning sectors….Meanwhile, New York broker Poten & Partners has this to say about wet tonnage: ‘Optimism in the tanker market has been the flavour of the month. Despite European debt worries and oil-spill anxiety stateside, generally healthy freight rates and moderated fleet growth have let shipping companies enjoy the freight-rate spoils over the past couple of weeks.’ And yet there are plenty of things to keep economists — if not shipowners — awake at night.”