Concerned by the perspective of rising protectionism in the Western hemisphere adding to longer sailing distances imposed by Red Sea transit disruptions, more slots on container vessels bound for the US and Europe are booked. Could such a lift in prices eventually benefit to smaller bulk carriers like in 2021? Having risen by >33% on a year-on-year basis, Handysize freight rates are still 50%-60% below rates recorded at this time of the year in 2021-2022!
If you would like to get more information on this topic and the impact on the freight market, please reach out to us on: [email protected].