The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index has reached a one-month low, reflecting reduced demand across various vessel segments amid escalating trade tensions. On Friday, the main index, which assesses rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels, decreased by 51 points, or 3.3%, settling at 1,489. This marks the index’s third consecutive week of losses. The downturn follows the announcement from China’s finance ministry, which stated that starting April 10, it will impose additional tariffs of 34% on all U.S. goods in response to significant tariffs levied by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Niels Rasmussen, BIMCO’s chief shipping analyst, highlighted that these tariffs would likely have a substantial impact on the panamax and supramax segments of the shipping market. The capesize index showed a significant drop, declining by 118 points, or over 5%, to 2,219, continuing its trend of losses for the third week in a row. Consequently, average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport bulk cargoes like iron ore and coal, fell by $979 to reach $18,404. Similarly, the panamax index experienced its fourth consecutive session of declines, dropping 39 points, or 2.7%, to 1,425, effectively ending its earlier three-week growth streak.
Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, responsible for carrying 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain, decreased by $352 to $12,824. In the smaller vessel category, the supramax index also fell, losing 2 points to rest at 971 and marking its second week of losses. As major exported commodities, such as grains and coal, become pricier due to tariffs, Rasmussen predicts China may turn to other trading partners like Brazil, Ukraine, Indonesia, Russia, Australia, and Mongolia for imports.