Charter rates for multipurpose vessels keep rising bit by bit since the sudden fall at the beginning of the year. Day rates increased by 114 dollars to USD 6,729 this month, Toepfer’s multipurpose shipping index shows.
The day rates have recovered 5.5% since their low point in June, after falling by 13% following the Covid-19 outbreak in Europe.
Although rates have been consistently increasing again step by step, analysts of Bimco and Drewry do not expect rates to recover to pre-covid-19 levels before the end of 2021.
Despite these predictions, optimism seems to prevail among ship owners and freight forwarders. 54% of the viewers of PCJ’s online edition of the Project Cargo Summit 2020 said they were optimisc about the market recovering again soon.
This article first appeared on Project Cargo Journal, which is another publication of SWZ|Maritime’s publishing partner Promedia.
