Shipping Australia’s Chairman, Clint Evans, writes:
I was privileged to be appointed as a director of Shipping Australia in mid-2021, and then honoured to be asked to step into the Chair-role in early December 2022.
Since then, we have seen an astonishing change in the industry’s fortunes. During the COVID-era, we saw unforeseen and unexpected freight rates. That situation has now completely changed, and we are witnessing near-record low freights, with the south-bound box rates a mere fraction of the COVID numbers.
[Editor’s note: this article was written before the Houthi attacks on shipping and the subsequent re-routing of vessels that caused freight rates to spike.]
At the time of writing, the dry bulk market time charter equivalent rates in the Handysize, Supramax, and Panamax markets entered a steady downward trend from about mid-Jun(ish) last year and have largely not recovered.
If we look back long enough in history, we see [a] boom-and-bust pattern repeating again and again in shipping. So, it’s back to business as usual for the shipping industry!
The industry will ride out this current cycle, just as it has done in every other cycle in history going back to antiquity.”
Clint also discusses the Maritime Single Window, the Productivity Commission final report into the Australian Maritime Logistics System, biosecurity matters, decarbonisation, and much more!
Read Clint’s full commentary here:
