The Drewry Multipurpose Time Charter Index increased to $6,289 per day in December, representing a rise of 3.5% compared to the previous month.
Over the year to December Drewry’s index is down 3.3%. Drewry expects the index to rise a further 1.4% in January to reach $6,375 per day.
Rates rose in all sectors over December although there was some disparity between the larger heavylift capable tonnage and the smaller vessels.
The larger vessels benefitted from the container lines tapping into the MPV sector to cover short-term tightness, while the smaller, more short-sea focussed vessels saw a weakening of demand as the Christmas holidays drew nearer.
Rates averaged around $6,300pd over the month and were up over 3% compared to November.
Note: The Drewry Multipurpose Time Charter Index tracks one-year period charter rates across a basket of vessel types and sizes and forecasts the market movement over the coming month. The vessel types include breakbulk and project cargo ships.
Source: Drewry
The market in most sectors has lost momentum over the end of the year and we expect it to take a little time before it regains it. However with reports already coming in that Chinese New Year might not be the full stop it usually is, there is a good level of expectation for the short-term rate forecast.
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