Resumen de MINERAL SANDS 2018: : Ship shortage, lack of liquidity and transparency making major impact on costs
Shipping makes up a large part of the mineral sand price; ‘Preferred’ Handysize sees strong demand while capesize market now 40% of the Baltic Dry Index.
Delegates attending the 2018 Mineral Sands Conference in March heard how Handysize ship demand is forecast to outstrip supply, and how industry opacity and a lack of liquidity is affecting overall transport costs.
Mark North, shipbroker at Thurlestone Shipping, told delegates at the conference in Perth, Western Australia, that this was because shipping costs are not necessarily reliant on overall conditions of the market, but are instead governed by a “lack of competition”, are subject to manipulation, and have a high barrier-to-entry, particularly in Australia.
Additionally, the Baltic Dry Index – which is often referred to as a kind of blanket indicator for shipping activity – removed Handysize shipments as a contributor to the index on March 1, 2018.
