Global freight trend is serious bad news

[Winston001]

The cost of freighting bulk cargo around the world has plummeted because of decreasing demand because of fear of recession. Commodity prices are dropping too. But over and above that, the credit crunch means ship owners are too nervous to take consignments in case they don't get paid.

It'll take a few months but this is going to impact on the global economy and NZ at the most distant point on the planet, is bound to be hurt.

"Put simply, the cost of shipping has dropped through the floor. Sending a tonne of iron ore from Brazil to China in early June would have set you back more than $100 (£62) per tonne, or around $15m per voyage. But freight rates have now dropped to only slightly over $10 per tonne, or just $1.5m for the 70-90 day journey.

As if that wasn't dramatic enough, the drop in daily charter rates is even sharper. At the peak of the market, a 170,000-tonne Capesize bulk carrier was hired out at the eye-watering daily rate of $234,000. At the beginning of this week, it was $5,611 – a fall of nearly 98 per cent."


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/shipping-holed-beneath-the-waterline-995066.html

[Cajun]

yeah we have noticed that alot thru work.(work at a nz port)

logs where being exported via containers, rather than bulk ships, but expected to reverse, over next few months, due to bulk ships cost now much cheaper.

Will that fall to lower price on products due to cheaper being shiped, don't think so tim

[CookMySock]

How the fuck do they get logs in a container? Thread them in longways, one by one?

And then, how they hell they get them out?? Tip the container up and shake it??


Steve

[Cajun]

How the fuck do they get logs in a container? Thread them in longways, one by one?

And then, how they hell they get them out?? Tip the container up and shake it??


Steve

at one stage there were 100's of them going out each week, 45' containers full of logs for export.

[Mully]

at one stage there were 100's of them going out each week, 45' containers full of logs for export.

I didn't think anyone was bringing 45' equipment into NZ.

Any idea whose boxes they are?

[Cajun]

I didn't think anyone was bringing 45' equipment into NZ.

Any idea whose boxes they are?

USL where first major one, who where brought out CMA/ANL so now ANL do alot. few other lines have some floating around also

[Finn]

You wanna know about containers? The Finn family own a few.

[Ixion]

But if sea freight charges come down massively, isn't that a *good* thing for a country like us that is dependant on sea freight, and where the cost of that freight is a significant element in our costs (both of what we import , and of what we export).

Long term such low rates could expose some NZ businesses to competition form cheap low wage countries, who are at present insulated by the cost of freighting in the goods. But I can't see them lasting, at those rates they can't even be covering their fuel costs.

[Winston001]

Long term ie. a year or more, lower rates are good for everyone because it reduces the cost of bulk commodity goods.

However the significance of this extreme and dramatic change is what it tells us about the global economic system. Ship owners no longer trust banks and letters of credit. So, if they won't accept cargo, how does all of the wheat/cotton/coal/iron ore move from its point of production to the manufacturing plants.

If mills don't get the flour/fibre they are expecting, then they close. Workers on the street........it could snowball into a worse recession.

It will all sort itself out in time but for the immediate future this is a good indicator that globally there will be a big slowdown. That translates to people suffering in the poorest countries.



I blame Helen Clark. She said she took personal responsibility so might as well shovel it on.

[Badjelly]

I blame Helen Clark. She said she took personal responsibility so might as well shovel it on.

I blame the greenies. They're to blame for everything else, so why not this?

[CookMySock]

You wanna know about containers? The Finn family own a few.

Throw a tarp over them and they make a good house eh?


Steve

[PirateJafa]

How the fuck do they get logs in a container? Thread them in longways, one by one?

And then, how they hell they get them out?? Tip the container up and shake it??

Pretty much, although we generally pack logs into 40' boxes rather than 45' units.

And you should see how they load scrap metal and some other commodities into containers - it can be exactly a case of "tip on end and fill" then at the destination "tip on other end and shake".

[Delerium]

keep letting those metal prices drop! means ammo is cheaper!

[98tls]

Interesting,we ship out about 4 containers a week at work,speaking of downturn we have just been reduced to 10 hour shifts instead of the usual 12 which is a complete and utter bastard,good news is they have received plenty of orders for Jan/Feb.

[pritch]

we have just been reduced to 10 hour shifts instead of the usual 12 which is a complete and utter bastard,

Well that does mean you can get some extra riding in?