The dry bulk market is turning the corner. Or is it?

Drewry paints upbeat picture for 2017 but runs into TradeWinds report of impending supply surge

Published Tue, Feb 14, 2017 · 09:50 PM

A NEW report predicts better times for the dry bulk sector but there are clouds on the horizon. There was some good news last week. The latest edition of global shipping consultancy Drewry's Dry Bulk Forecaster predicted: "With contraction in vessel supply and healthy demand growth, the dry bulk shipping market is expected to recover from 2017 onwards."

Unfortunately, even as that information popped up via e-mail on Friday, the latest issue of shipping newspaper TradeWinds landed on my desk. It ran a report that "owners seize on rock-bottom newbuilding prices to order both tankers and bulkers". A headline shouted that contracts for large bulkers "spark doubts over market recovery".

So where are we? What should we believe?

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