For as long as I have followed shipping and dry bulk shipping, it still surprises me how quickly the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) can flip. The last couple of weeks, the rate order had flipped (smallest category of vessel (Handy) > largest category (Capesize)).
Page 3 Table Baltic Indices
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022…
I mean, we’re talking a vessel size X (Handysize) earning about 73% more than a vessel size 5X (Capesize)
The ratio was even higher the last week of Jan 2022.
[Unfortunately, I don’t really know of a publicly traded dry bulk company that focuses primarily on Handysize vessels. So, there isn’t really a way to bet on this development. Next size up, Supramax/Ultramax has Eagle Bulk (EGLE) as a shipping that focuses on the size category]
That was the prior two weeks.
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More recent development suggests the Cape market is picking up
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/baltic-index-scales-1-m…
Given that this year has a special factor (China hosting winter Olympics), I was expecting the Cape turnaround would occur later this year. Might still be the case, but for now, some movement has occurred. My dry bulk bet is on three names (NMM, SBLK & GOGL) that are more focused on the larger vessel category. But, at least one, SBLK, has about 25-30% of its fleet exposed to the Supramax/Ultramax category.