The average daily multipurpose time charter rate for a 12,500 dwt/F-type heavy lift vessel fell 10.81 percent month-on-month to USD15,900 at the start of January 2023, according to Toepfer Transport.
The average daily multipurpose time charter rate for a 12,500 dwt/F-type heavy lift vessel fell 10.81 percent month-on-month to USD15,900 at the start of January 2023, according to Toepfer Transport.
“A recent drop in demand from the traditional breakbulk/neobulk market puts pressure on the time charter rates. While most market stakeholders expect the demand for multipurpose cargo space to increase rapidly later this year, it is yet unclear when exactly all the expected oil and gas and renewables projects finally will be shipped,” said Toepfer.
“These uncertainties are flanked by the high number of Covid-19 infections in China, which may have some impact on the steel markets, the production of various goods and on the reliability of port operations.”
Toepfer added that the situation was clearly reflected in the assessments its panellists made for the six-month and 12-month forecasts, where some expect the rates will rise in the coming months and others expect the rates to fall. “Only time can tell us who is right,” said Toepfer.
December Index - published 6/12/2022
The average daily multipurpose time charter rate for a 12,500 dwt/F-type heavy lift vessel fell 5.75 percent month-on-month to USD17,827 at the start of December 2022.
The decline continues a vein of form seen over the course of the past three months. The analyst expects a steady 6 percent month-on-month decline in charter rates going forwards.
November Index - published 6/11/2022
The average daily multipurpose time charter rate for a 12,500 dwt/F-type heavy lift vessel fell 6.77 percent month-on-month to USD18,915.
The shipbrokers index has fallen roughly 6 percent per month for the past three months, and dipped below USD20,000 per day for the first time in 10 months.
“We believe that this is a healthy trend which could lead to a sustainable rate level that is needed to make the much-needed investments into the multipurpose fleet viable,” said Toepfer. It added that the second-hand market remains bullish; ships are still being fixed at high levels showing confidence in the future rate developments.
October Index - published 6/10/2022
Toepfer Transport’s October time charter index shows that the average daily multipurpose time charter rate for a 12,500 dwt/F-type heavy lift vessel fell 6.1 percent month-on-month to USD20,289.
The shipbroker and market analyst said that the multipurpose operators “are facing a certain dip in demand from the traditional breakbulk sector, which meets a significant withdrawal of interest from container carriers, especially for large multipurpose units”.
It added: “On the other hand, many demanding industrial projects are expected to be moved forward in the next months, which are likely to cause a high utilisation of the more sophisticated ships in the fleet.”
September index – published September 7, 2022
In Toepfer Transport’s September 2022 time charter index, the average daily multipurpose time charter rate for a 12,500 dwt/F-type heavy lift vessel fell 5.86 percent month on month to USD21,608.
Slipping for the third month in succession, the Germany-headquartered shipbroker and market analyst said the decline was in part due to the European summer slump, and the current political/economic uncertainties. “The almost overheated market faces the inevitable market correction while the demand indicators show that the average charter rates will remain at high levels. As a result, the duration of new charter fixtures gets shorter,” said Toepfer.
August index – published August 8, 2022
Shipbroker and industry analyst Toepfer Transport has issued its August 2022 time charter index. The average daily multipurpose time charter rate for a 12,500 dwt/F-type heavy lift vessel fell slightly to USD22,954.
Month on month the rate is down 0.78 percent, and the Hamburg-based broker said that “market participants are still fixing for high levels though pressure begins to rise. The first indicator of the market slowing down are the time charter length and we see a definitive drop there. Most operators are hesitant to commit to these still high rates for a longer period.”
Toepfer attributed this to greater macroeconomic uncertainty, something that is expected grow with China now concluding military training at the border of Taiwan.
It added that the “sideways trend” in its index suggests that market participants are still in an overall good mood: “The large investments from countries around the world in renewable energy as well as oil and gas should provide the multipurpose sector with large cargo volumes for the years to come.”
July Index: published: July 8, 2022
Toepfer Transport reports that the average daily multipurpose time charter rate for a 12,500 dwt/F-type heavy lift vessel hit USD23,099 in July – up 1.47 percent month on month.
It said that the multipurpose shipping sector is currently driven by a “wait-and-see attitude” even though multipurpose rates stand at an all-time high. The global economy is on the brink of recession. Sentiment across the OECD has been falling for 11 months and is at its lowest ebb since 2009.
“Due to the long lead times for large projects, negative economic trends usually reach the multipurpose market with a certain delay and some indicators give hope that the ongoing surge in demand, especially from the renewables sector, may mitigate some of the upcoming macroeconomic pressure,” said Toepfer.
“Facing the uncertainty of when, how long and how hard the recession will hit the market, both the multipurpose second-hand and the newbuilding markets show very low activity. Some owners are still actively promoting their newbuilding ideas but most still have some way to go to turn their plans into effective orders,” it added.
